diff --git a/packages/gittensory-miner/lib/miner-goal-spec.d.ts b/packages/gittensory-miner/lib/miner-goal-spec.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bf385824f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/gittensory-miner/lib/miner-goal-spec.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+import type { ParsedMinerGoalSpec } from "@jsonbored/gittensory-engine";
+
+export function resolveMinerGoalSpec(
+  repoPath: string,
+  options?: {
+    existsSync?: (path: string) => boolean;
+    readFileSync?: (path: string, encoding: "utf8") => string;
+  },
+): ParsedMinerGoalSpec;
diff --git a/packages/gittensory-miner/lib/miner-goal-spec.js b/packages/gittensory-miner/lib/miner-goal-spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..411809524
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/gittensory-miner/lib/miner-goal-spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { existsSync, readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { discoverMinerGoalSpecPath, parseMinerGoalSpecContent } from "@jsonbored/gittensory-engine";
+
+// Real local .gittensory-miner.yml resolver (#5132, Wave 3.5 follow-up). MinerGoalSpec's own discovery
+// helper (discoverMinerGoalSpecPath, packages/gittensory-engine) is deliberately IO-free -- the caller
+// injects the existence check. Unlike self-review-context.js/rejection-signal.js/ams-policy.js, which fetch
+// their target repo's files live over raw.githubusercontent.com BEFORE any clone exists, this resolver reads
+// the ALREADY-CLONED repo on disk (attempt-worktree.js's prepareAttemptWorktree runs first in the real
+// attempt-cli.js flow) -- no extra network round trip needed for a file that's already sitting in the
+// worktree.
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the real, parsed MinerGoalSpec for an already-cloned repo at `repoPath`, trying each
+ * MINER_GOAL_SPEC_FILENAMES candidate in the documented discovery order. Never throws: a missing file, an
+ * unreadable file, or malformed content all degrade to the tolerant parser's own absent/safe-default result.
+ *
+ * `options.existsSync`/`options.readFileSync`, when injected, always receive the FULL joined path (same
+ * convention as `node:fs`'s own functions), not a repoPath-relative candidate.
+ *
+ * @param {string} repoPath
+ * @param {{ existsSync?: (path: string) => boolean, readFileSync?: (path: string, encoding: "utf8") => string }} [options]
+ * @returns {import("@jsonbored/gittensory-engine").ParsedMinerGoalSpec}
+ */
+export function resolveMinerGoalSpec(repoPath, options = {}) {
+  const existsImpl = options.existsSync ?? existsSync;
+  const readImpl = options.readFileSync ?? readFileSync;
+
+  const relativePath = discoverMinerGoalSpecPath((candidate) => existsImpl(join(repoPath, candidate)));
+  if (!relativePath) return parseMinerGoalSpecContent(null);
+
+  try {
+    const content = readImpl(join(repoPath, relativePath), "utf8");
+    return parseMinerGoalSpecContent(content);
+  } catch {
+    return parseMinerGoalSpecContent(null);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/gittensory-miner/package.json b/packages/gittensory-miner/package.json
index f95cbd0c1..d47b4cfec 100644
--- a/packages/gittensory-miner/package.json
+++ b/packages/gittensory-miner/package.json
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
     "expected-engine.version"
   ],
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "node --check bin/gittensory-miner.js && node --check bin/gittensory-miner-mcp.js && node --check lib/ams-policy.js && node --check lib/attempt-cli.js && node --check lib/attempt-log.js && node --check lib/attempt-runner.js && node --check lib/attempt-worktree.js && node --check lib/calibration-types.js && node --check lib/calibration.js && node --check lib/ci-poller.js && node --check lib/claim-adjudication.js && node --check lib/claim-ledger-cli.js && node --check lib/claim-ledger-expiry.js && node --check lib/claim-ledger.js && node --check lib/cli.js && node --check lib/coding-agent-construction.js && node --check lib/coding-agent-house-rules.js && node --check lib/coding-task-spec.js && node --check lib/deny-check.js && node --check lib/deny-hook-synthesis.js && node --check lib/deny-hooks.js && node --check lib/discover-cli.js && node --check lib/event-ledger-cli.js && node --check lib/event-ledger.js && node --check lib/execute-local-write.js && node --check lib/feasibility-cli.js && node --check lib/gate-verdict-poller.js && node --check lib/governor-action-mode.js && node --check lib/governor-chokepoint-persisted.js && node --check lib/governor-chokepoint.js && node --check lib/governor-kill-switch.js && node --check lib/governor-ledger-cli.js && node --check lib/governor-ledger.js && node --check lib/governor-open-pr.js && node --check lib/governor-run-halt.js && node --check lib/governor-state.js && node --check lib/governor-write-rate-limit.js && node --check lib/harness-submission-trigger.js && node --check lib/laptop-init.js && node --check lib/live-issue-snapshot.js && node --check lib/local-store.js && node --check lib/loop-closure.js && node --check lib/loop-reentry.js && node --check lib/manage-poll.js && node --check lib/manage-status.js && node --check lib/opportunity-fanout.js && node --check lib/opportunity-ranker.js && node --check lib/orb-export.js && node --check lib/plan-store-cli.js && node --check lib/plan-store.js && node --check lib/portfolio-dashboard.js && node --check lib/portfolio-discovery.js && node --check lib/portfolio-queue-cli.js && node --check lib/portfolio-queue-manager.js && node --check lib/portfolio-queue.js && node --check lib/portfolio-queue-expiry.js && node --check lib/pr-outcome.js && node --check lib/prediction-ledger.js && node --check lib/pretooluse-hook.js && node --check lib/rejection-signal.js && node --check lib/rejection-state-machine.js && node --check lib/rejection-templates.js && node --check lib/replay-objective-anchor.js && node --check lib/replay-snapshot.js && node --check lib/replay-task-generation.js && node --check lib/repo-clone.js && node --check lib/run-state-cli.js && node --check lib/run-state.js && node --check lib/self-review-context.js && node --check lib/slop-assessment.js && node --check lib/status.js && node --check lib/submission-freshness-check.js && node --check lib/update-check.js && node --check lib/version.js && node --check lib/worktree-allocator.js"
+    "build": "node --check bin/gittensory-miner.js && node --check bin/gittensory-miner-mcp.js && node --check lib/ams-policy.js && node --check lib/attempt-cli.js && node --check lib/attempt-log.js && node --check lib/attempt-runner.js && node --check lib/attempt-worktree.js && node --check lib/calibration-types.js && node --check lib/calibration.js && node --check lib/ci-poller.js && node --check lib/claim-adjudication.js && node --check lib/claim-ledger-cli.js && node --check lib/claim-ledger-expiry.js && node --check lib/claim-ledger.js && node --check lib/cli.js && node --check lib/coding-agent-construction.js && node --check lib/coding-agent-house-rules.js && node --check lib/coding-task-spec.js && node --check lib/deny-check.js && node --check lib/deny-hook-synthesis.js && node --check lib/deny-hooks.js && node --check lib/discover-cli.js && node --check lib/event-ledger-cli.js && node --check lib/event-ledger.js && node --check lib/execute-local-write.js && node --check lib/feasibility-cli.js && node --check lib/gate-verdict-poller.js && node --check lib/governor-action-mode.js && node --check lib/governor-chokepoint-persisted.js && node --check lib/governor-chokepoint.js && node --check lib/governor-kill-switch.js && node --check lib/governor-ledger-cli.js && node --check lib/governor-ledger.js && node --check lib/governor-open-pr.js && node --check lib/governor-run-halt.js && node --check lib/governor-state.js && node --check lib/governor-write-rate-limit.js && node --check lib/harness-submission-trigger.js && node --check lib/laptop-init.js && node --check lib/live-issue-snapshot.js && node --check lib/local-store.js && node --check lib/loop-closure.js && node --check lib/loop-reentry.js && node --check lib/manage-poll.js && node --check lib/manage-status.js && node --check lib/miner-goal-spec.js && node --check lib/opportunity-fanout.js && node --check lib/opportunity-ranker.js && node --check lib/orb-export.js && node --check lib/plan-store-cli.js && node --check lib/plan-store.js && node --check lib/portfolio-dashboard.js && node --check lib/portfolio-discovery.js && node --check lib/portfolio-queue-cli.js && node --check lib/portfolio-queue-manager.js && node --check lib/portfolio-queue.js && node --check lib/portfolio-queue-expiry.js && node --check lib/pr-outcome.js && node --check lib/prediction-ledger.js && node --check lib/pretooluse-hook.js && node --check lib/rejection-signal.js && node --check lib/rejection-state-machine.js && node --check lib/rejection-templates.js && node --check lib/replay-objective-anchor.js && node --check lib/replay-snapshot.js && node --check lib/replay-task-generation.js && node --check lib/repo-clone.js && node --check lib/run-state-cli.js && node --check lib/run-state.js && node --check lib/self-review-context.js && node --check lib/slop-assessment.js && node --check lib/status.js && node --check lib/submission-freshness-check.js && node --check lib/update-check.js && node --check lib/version.js && node --check lib/worktree-allocator.js"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@jsonbored/gittensory-engine": "*",
diff --git a/test/unit/miner-goal-spec-resolver.test.ts b/test/unit/miner-goal-spec-resolver.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d00059658
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/miner-goal-spec-resolver.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import { mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+vi.mock("@jsonbored/gittensory-engine", async () => {
+  return import("../../packages/gittensory-engine/src/index");
+});
+
+import { resolveMinerGoalSpec } from "../../packages/gittensory-miner/lib/miner-goal-spec.js";
+
+const roots: string[] = [];
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  for (const root of roots.splice(0)) rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+function tempRepo() {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "gittensory-miner-goal-spec-"));
+  roots.push(root);
+  return root;
+}
+
+describe("resolveMinerGoalSpec (#5132)", () => {
+  it("returns an absent safe-default spec when no candidate file exists", () => {
+    const repoPath = tempRepo();
+    const parsed = resolveMinerGoalSpec(repoPath);
+    expect(parsed.present).toBe(false);
+    expect(parsed.spec.killSwitch).toEqual({ paused: false });
+  });
+
+  it("REGRESSION: reads a real .gittensory-miner.yml from the cloned repo's root", () => {
+    const repoPath = tempRepo();
+    writeFileSync(join(repoPath, ".gittensory-miner.yml"), "killSwitch:\n  paused: true\n");
+    const parsed = resolveMinerGoalSpec(repoPath);
+    expect(parsed.present).toBe(true);
+    expect(parsed.spec.killSwitch).toEqual({ paused: true });
+  });
+
+  it("tries .github/gittensory-miner.yml when the root .yml is absent", () => {
+    const repoPath = tempRepo();
+    mkdirSync(join(repoPath, ".github"), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(repoPath, ".github", "gittensory-miner.yml"), "killSwitch:\n  paused: true\n");
+    const parsed = resolveMinerGoalSpec(repoPath);
+    expect(parsed.present).toBe(true);
+    expect(parsed.spec.killSwitch.paused).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("tries the .json variants after both .yml candidates are absent", () => {
+    const repoPath = tempRepo();
+    writeFileSync(join(repoPath, ".gittensory-miner.json"), JSON.stringify({ killSwitch: { paused: true } }));
+    const parsed = resolveMinerGoalSpec(repoPath);
+    expect(parsed.present).toBe(true);
+    expect(parsed.spec.killSwitch.paused).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("degrades to safe defaults on malformed content instead of throwing", () => {
+    const repoPath = tempRepo();
+    writeFileSync(join(repoPath, ".gittensory-miner.yml"), "killSwitch: [unterminated");
+    const parsed = resolveMinerGoalSpec(repoPath);
+    expect(parsed.present).toBe(false);
+    expect(parsed.spec.killSwitch).toEqual({ paused: false });
+    expect(parsed.warnings.join(" ")).toMatch(/not valid YAML/i);
+  });
+
+  it("degrades to safe defaults when the discovered file can't actually be read", () => {
+    const repoPath = tempRepo();
+    const parsed = resolveMinerGoalSpec(repoPath, {
+      existsSync: (path) => path.endsWith(".gittensory-miner.yml") && !path.includes(".github"),
+      readFileSync: () => {
+        throw new Error("EACCES: permission denied");
+      },
+    });
+    expect(parsed.present).toBe(false);
+    expect(parsed.spec.killSwitch).toEqual({ paused: false });
+  });
+});