diff --git a/.claude/notes/orchestration.md b/.claude/notes/orchestration.md
index a37c65882..7a65e2241 100644
--- a/.claude/notes/orchestration.md
+++ b/.claude/notes/orchestration.md
@@ -108,6 +108,23 @@ VERDICT, never the facts — the seeding cannot restore a fact the execute phase
 captured. The budget gate runs AFTER the criteria on the graded path purely for
 partial-credit visibility, and there is no partial credit under `execute`.
 
+### Post-failure evidence is declared, not proven
+
+A timed-out run used to score 0.00 on artifacts that every grader accepted, because the
+whole uipath-maestro-flow suite grades through `run_command` and the path ran only file
+checks. `read_only: true` admits a single named command.
+
+The gate could not stay a ClassVar: `run_command` is safe or unsafe per criterion, not
+per type, and no analysis decides which — an arbitrary shell command can start a cloud
+job (`uip maestro flow debug` does). So the flag is the AUTHOR's claim, the ClassVar
+stayed the type-level answer, and `evaluable_after_agent_failure` became the per-instance
+one every caller asks. Widening the flag to the base would let a judge declare itself
+deterministic, which is a different and false claim.
+
+What keeps it honest: results land in `post_failure_criteria_results`, which
+`calculate_weighted_score` never reads. A timed-out run stays ERROR at 0.0 no matter what
+the diagnostic pass finds — the flag buys evidence, never a verdict.
+
 ### Rates need verdict evidence, not bucket counts
 
 A published rate divides by rows that actually carry a verdict, not by a bucket count. The
diff --git a/docs/REPORT_SCHEMA.md b/docs/REPORT_SCHEMA.md
index 472287d9b..f7002e3ec 100644
--- a/docs/REPORT_SCHEMA.md
+++ b/docs/REPORT_SCHEMA.md
@@ -188,14 +188,17 @@ fields so subclass keys round-trip.
 
 ### Post-failure criterion evidence
 
-When an agent crashes or its turn times out, coder-eval runs only deterministic,
-read-only artifact criteria while the sandbox is still live: `file_exists`,
+When an agent crashes or its turn times out on a graded run, coder-eval runs only
+deterministic, read-only artifact criteria while the sandbox is still live: `file_exists`,
 `file_contains`, `file_matches_regex`, `file_check`, `json_check`,
-`reference_comparison`, and `classification_match`. Judges, trajectory checks,
-`run_command`, and `uipath_eval` are recorded with
-`evaluation_status="not_evaluated"`; they are not invoked on this recovery path.
+`reference_comparison`, and `classification_match`. A `run_command` criterion joins them
+only when the task author sets [`read_only: true`](TASK_DEFINITION_GUIDE.md#run_command)
+on it. Judges, trajectory checks, plain `run_command`, and `uipath_eval` are recorded
+with `evaluation_status="not_evaluated"`; they are not invoked on this recovery path.
 The diagnostic list is additive evidence. An `ERROR` run remains `ERROR`, and its
-canonical score remains 0.0.
+canonical score remains 0.0. The list stays empty under `coder-eval execute`, and on a
+token/cost budget breach, which fires only after every criterion is already scored in
+`success_criteria_results`.
 
 ### TurnRecord
 
diff --git a/docs/TASK_DEFINITION_GUIDE.md b/docs/TASK_DEFINITION_GUIDE.md
index d0a300103..59d613a81 100644
--- a/docs/TASK_DEFINITION_GUIDE.md
+++ b/docs/TASK_DEFINITION_GUIDE.md
@@ -904,6 +904,12 @@ Runs a command and checks the exit code, with optional stdout matching. **Binary
   expected_stdout: "Hello, World!"    # Optional: check stdout content
   stdout_match: "exact"               # "exact" (default), "contains", or "regex"
   description: "Script must output the correct text"
+
+# Also graded when the turn times out or the agent crashes
+- type: "run_command"
+  command: "python graders/check_flow.py"
+  read_only: true                     # declaration, not enforcement -- see below
+  description: "Flow must contain the approval node"
 ```
 
 | Field | Default | Description |
@@ -914,6 +920,19 @@ Runs a command and checks the exit code, with optional stdout matching. **Binary
 | `expected_stdout` | `null` | When set, stdout is also checked |
 | `stdout_match` | `"exact"` | Match mode: `exact` (stripped), `contains` (substring), `regex` (pattern) |
 | `score_from_stdout` | `false` | Read a float score (0.0–1.0) from the first stdout line (remaining lines become details); a non-zero exit code or a parse failure scores 0.0. Mutually exclusive with `expected_stdout`. |
+| `read_only` | `false` | Declares the command inspects artifacts only. Its sole effect: a graded run also runs the criterion after a turn timeout or an agent crash — see [Post-failure criterion evidence](REPORT_SCHEMA.md#post-failure-criterion-evidence). |
+
+`read_only` is an author declaration, **not** a restriction. coder-eval cannot decide
+whether a shell command is pure, so it verifies nothing and confines nothing: the
+command runs exactly as it always does. Set it only when the command reads artifacts and
+nothing else. Leave it `false` when the command writes state or calls a live service (a
+`uip maestro flow debug` grader starts a real cloud job, so it must stay `false`).
+
+Keep a `read_only` criterion's `timeout` short. The diagnostic pass runs after the agent
+is gone, and the commands are not interruptible: a `task_timeout` that expires mid-pass
+cancels the await, not the shell subprocess, so it keeps running while the sandbox is
+torn down. Without a `task_timeout` the pass is bounded only by the sum of these
+timeouts.
 
 ### `file_matches_regex`
 
diff --git a/plugins/coder-eval/reference/criteria.md b/plugins/coder-eval/reference/criteria.md
index 4267c0e57..526e1fbdd 100644
--- a/plugins/coder-eval/reference/criteria.md
+++ b/plugins/coder-eval/reference/criteria.md
@@ -249,6 +249,7 @@ Optional:
 | `expected_stdout` | Expected stdout content. When set, stdout is also checked. |
 | `stdout_match` | How to match stdout: 'exact' (stripped), 'contains' (substring), 'regex' (pattern) |
 | `score_from_stdout` | When true, read a float score (0.0-1.0) from the first line of stdout. Remaining lines are captured as details. Non-zero exit code or parse failure -> score 0.0. Mutually exclusive with expected_stdout. |
+| `read_only` | Declares this command an artifact-only check: it writes nothing and reaches no live service. Its one effect is that a graded run also runs it after an agent crash or turn timeout, on the diagnostic path, where the result is recorded but never scored. Nothing verifies the declaration; see the Task Definition Guide for when to set it. |
 
 ### `skill_triggered`
 
diff --git a/plugins/coder-eval/skills/task/SKILL.md b/plugins/coder-eval/skills/task/SKILL.md
index 7226cdeaa..440de214f 100644
--- a/plugins/coder-eval/skills/task/SKILL.md
+++ b/plugins/coder-eval/skills/task/SKILL.md
@@ -120,6 +120,10 @@ Rules that matter:
   filename — a criterion matching that literal is a **smoke check**, not evidence: it
   only proves the agent typed back what it was told. Keep it if you like, at a low
   weight, and put the weight on a criterion that checks the resulting *behaviour*.
+- Set `read_only: true` on a `run_command` grader that only inspects artifacts: a run
+  whose agent crashed or timed out then still records what the artifacts were worth,
+  instead of scoring nothing. Never set it on a command that writes state or calls a
+  live service — nothing verifies the claim, and the command runs unchanged.
 - `weight` reflects importance: `0.5` nice-to-have, `1.0` standard, `1.5`–`2.0` critical.
   `weight: 0` makes a criterion informational (reported, but excluded from the score and
   the pass/fail gate).
diff --git a/src/coder_eval/models/criteria.py b/src/coder_eval/models/criteria.py
index e4ee9764d..1e661aa73 100644
--- a/src/coder_eval/models/criteria.py
+++ b/src/coder_eval/models/criteria.py
@@ -140,7 +140,19 @@ class BaseSuccessCriterion(BaseModel, ABC):
     """True if this criterion requires agent turn records to evaluate correctly."""
 
     supports_post_failure_evaluation: ClassVar[bool] = False
-    """True for deterministic, read-only artifact checks safe to run after agent failure."""
+    """Type-level only: True for criterion TYPES that are always deterministic, read-only
+    artifact checks. It cannot answer for an instance -- ``run_command`` decides per
+    criterion -- so every caller asks ``evaluable_after_agent_failure`` instead."""
+
+    @property
+    def evaluable_after_agent_failure(self) -> bool:
+        """True when THIS criterion is safe to run after a terminal agent failure.
+
+        The per-instance answer the orchestrator asks, so a type whose safety
+        depends on how the criterion is authored (``run_command``) can decide it
+        from its own fields instead of from the class.
+        """
+        return self.supports_post_failure_evaluation
 
     @property
     def is_stop_armed(self) -> bool:
@@ -398,6 +410,20 @@ class RunCommandCriterion(BaseSuccessCriterion):
             "Mutually exclusive with expected_stdout."
         ),
     )
+    read_only: bool = Field(
+        default=False,
+        description=(
+            "Declares this command an artifact-only check: it writes nothing and reaches no live "
+            "service. Its one effect is that a graded run also runs it after an agent crash or "
+            "turn timeout, on the diagnostic path, where the result is recorded but never scored. "
+            "Nothing verifies the declaration; see the Task Definition Guide for when to set it."
+        ),
+    )
+
+    @property
+    def evaluable_after_agent_failure(self) -> bool:
+        """Author-declared, not proven -- see ``read_only``."""
+        return self.read_only
 
     @model_validator(mode="after")
     def check_score_from_stdout_exclusivity(self) -> RunCommandCriterion:
diff --git a/src/coder_eval/orchestrator.py b/src/coder_eval/orchestrator.py
index eccfd7f15..c10f1deb2 100644
--- a/src/coder_eval/orchestrator.py
+++ b/src/coder_eval/orchestrator.py
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@
     PreRunCommand,
     PreservationMode,
     ReferenceComparisonCriterion,
+    RunCommandCriterion,
     SimulationConfig,
     SimulationTelemetry,
     SuccessCriterion,
@@ -862,6 +863,13 @@ def _post_failure_exception_reason(error: Exception) -> str:
         suffix = f": {message}" if message else ""
         return f"post-failure grading could not complete ({type(error).__name__}{suffix})"
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _unavailable_reason(criterion: SuccessCriterion) -> str:
+        reason = "the criterion is not a deterministic, read-only artifact check"
+        if isinstance(criterion, RunCommandCriterion):
+            reason += " (declare 'read_only: true' on it if the command only inspects artifacts)"
+        return reason
+
     @staticmethod
     def _not_evaluated_result(criterion: SuccessCriterion, reason: str) -> CriterionResult:
         return CriterionResult(
@@ -886,8 +894,14 @@ async def _evaluate_post_failure_criteria(self) -> None:
         """Evaluate diagnostic criteria before the live sandbox is torn down.
 
         Results stay outside the canonical scored list. Only criteria that
-        declare themselves deterministic and read-only run on this path. This
-        excludes judges and checks that execute sandbox commands.
+        declare themselves deterministic and read-only run on this path. That
+        excludes judges and trajectory checks, and every ``run_command``
+        criterion except one the task author marked ``read_only`` -- which DOES
+        execute a sandbox command here.
+
+        Reached from an agent crash or a turn timeout only. A budget breach
+        raises after the canonical vector is already complete, so its guard in
+        ``_run_evaluation_with_failure_evidence`` re-raises before this runs.
         """
         if self.result is None:
             return
@@ -903,7 +917,7 @@ async def _evaluate_post_failure_criteria(self) -> None:
         runnable: list[SuccessCriterion] = []
         unavailable_positions: set[int] = set()
         for position, criterion in enumerate(self.task.success_criteria):
-            if not criterion.supports_post_failure_evaluation:
+            if not criterion.evaluable_after_agent_failure:
                 unavailable_positions.add(position)
             else:
                 runnable.append(criterion)
@@ -925,12 +939,7 @@ async def _evaluate_post_failure_criteria(self) -> None:
         recovered: CriteriaResults = []
         for position, criterion in enumerate(self.task.success_criteria):
             if position in unavailable_positions:
-                recovered.append(
-                    self._not_evaluated_result(
-                        criterion,
-                        "the criterion is not a deterministic, read-only artifact check",
-                    )
-                )
+                recovered.append(self._not_evaluated_result(criterion, self._unavailable_reason(criterion)))
             else:
                 recovered.append(next(checked_iter))
         self.result.post_failure_criteria_results = recovered
diff --git a/tests/test_success_criterion_union.py b/tests/test_success_criterion_union.py
index 3cde2e9df..778a4dea9 100644
--- a/tests/test_success_criterion_union.py
+++ b/tests/test_success_criterion_union.py
@@ -122,6 +122,31 @@ def test_model_dump_exclude_unset_round_trip():
     assert round_tripped.success_criteria[0].type == "file_exists"
 
 
+def test_read_only_survives_exclude_unset_round_trip():
+    """``read_only`` gates post-failure grading, so a dropped flag silently loses a score."""
+    task = _make_task([{"type": "run_command", "description": "d", "command": "true", "read_only": True}])
+
+    round_tripped = TaskDefinition.model_validate(task.model_dump(exclude_unset=True))
+
+    criterion = round_tripped.success_criteria[0]
+    assert criterion.read_only is True
+    assert criterion.evaluable_after_agent_failure is True
+
+
+def test_run_command_is_not_post_failure_evaluable_by_default():
+    task = _make_task([{"type": "run_command", "description": "d", "command": "true"}])
+
+    assert task.success_criteria[0].evaluable_after_agent_failure is False
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("tag", sorted(MINIMAL_PAYLOADS))
+def test_post_failure_property_tracks_the_type_answer(tag: str):
+    """Only ``run_command`` may diverge from its ClassVar, and only via ``read_only``."""
+    criterion = _make_task([{"type": tag, **MINIMAL_PAYLOADS[tag]}]).success_criteria[0]
+
+    assert criterion.evaluable_after_agent_failure is criterion.supports_post_failure_evaluation
+
+
 def test_validate_registry_passes():
     CriterionRegistry.discover()
     validate_registry()
diff --git a/tests/test_timeout_orchestrator.py b/tests/test_timeout_orchestrator.py
index 080113c79..ec0565787 100644
--- a/tests/test_timeout_orchestrator.py
+++ b/tests/test_timeout_orchestrator.py
@@ -429,6 +429,89 @@ async def cleanup() -> None:
     ]
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_read_only_run_command_is_graded_after_a_terminal_agent_error(tmp_path) -> None:
+    """A declared read-only grader records artifact truth without rescuing the run."""
+    task = _make_task(turn_timeout=1200, task_timeout=1500)
+    task.success_criteria = [
+        RunCommandCriterion(
+            type="run_command",
+            command="test -f artifact.txt",
+            read_only=True,
+            description="declared read-only grader",
+        ),
+        RunCommandCriterion(
+            type="run_command",
+            command="test -f missing.txt",
+            read_only=True,
+            description="declared read-only grader that fails",
+        ),
+        RunCommandCriterion(
+            type="run_command",
+            command="touch should-not-run",
+            description="undeclared sandbox command",
+        ),
+        LLMJudgeCriterion(
+            type="llm_judge",
+            prompt="Grade the artifact.",
+            description="paid judge",
+        ),
+    ]
+    run_dir = tmp_path / "run" / "read_only_post_failure"
+    run_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+    orchestrator = Orchestrator(task=task, run_dir=run_dir, variant_id="test-variant")
+    orchestrator._setup = AsyncMock()  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+    orchestrator._refresh_runtime_tool_versions = MagicMock()  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+    terminal_error = TurnTimeoutError(1200, task_id=task.task_id, iteration=1)
+    orchestrator._evaluation_loop = AsyncMock(side_effect=terminal_error)  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+
+    sandbox = Sandbox(SandboxConfig(driver="tempdir"), task_id=task.task_id)
+    sandbox_dir = sandbox.setup()
+    (sandbox_dir / "artifact.txt").write_text("finished", encoding="utf-8")
+    orchestrator.sandbox = sandbox
+    orchestrator.success_checker = SuccessChecker(sandbox)
+
+    # Recorded before teardown removes the directory; asserting inside `cleanup`
+    # would hide the failure in the orchestrator's finally block.
+    marker_seen: list[bool] = []
+
+    async def cleanup() -> None:
+        marker_seen.append((sandbox_dir / "should-not-run").exists())
+        sandbox.cleanup()
+
+    orchestrator._cleanup = cleanup  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+
+    mock_agent = MagicMock()
+    mock_agent.kill_sync = MagicMock()
+    mock_agent.get_sdk_options = MagicMock(return_value=None)
+    orchestrator.agent = mock_agent
+
+    result = await orchestrator.run()
+
+    assert marker_seen == [False], "an undeclared run_command must not execute on this path"
+
+    passed, failed, undeclared, judge = result.post_failure_criteria_results
+    assert passed.evaluation_status == "evaluated"
+    assert passed.score == 1.0
+
+    # A real failing verdict, NOT the not_evaluated placeholder -- both score 0.0.
+    assert failed.evaluation_status == "evaluated"
+    assert failed.score == 0.0
+    assert "Not evaluated after terminal agent failure" not in (failed.details or "")
+
+    # The opt-in hint belongs only to the type that has the opt-in.
+    assert undeclared.evaluation_status == "not_evaluated"
+    assert "read_only: true" in (undeclared.details or "")
+    assert judge.evaluation_status == "not_evaluated"
+    assert "read_only: true" not in (judge.details or "")
+
+    # The evidence is additive: the run is still the failure it was.
+    assert result.final_status == "ERROR"
+    assert result.error_message == str(terminal_error)
+    assert result.weighted_score == 0.0
+    assert result.success_criteria_results == []
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "recovery_error",
     [