diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3ca5b9ff1..a9d525781 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ and adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixes
+
+- `codegraph_explore` no longer tells a fresh subagent, or an agent after context compaction, to reuse source that only an earlier context received. Cross-call source suppression now requires explicit `CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP=1`; without a reliable host-provided context lifecycle, the default safely re-serves source on every call. (#1620)
 
 ## [1.6.0] - 2026-08-26
 
diff --git a/__tests__/explore-cross-call-dedup.test.ts b/__tests__/explore-cross-call-dedup.test.ts
index 608d85ce8..ce208dc95 100644
--- a/__tests__/explore-cross-call-dedup.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/explore-cross-call-dedup.test.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import { ExploreSessionState, type ExploreProjectState } from '../src/mcp/explor
 import {
   EXPLORE_DEDUP,
   dedupeRange,
+  exploreDedupEnabled,
   fileFingerprint,
   formatBackReference,
   intersectRange,
@@ -41,6 +42,27 @@ const FIXTURE_SRC = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures', 'payroll-go');
 const QUERY = 'how does payroll cycle create and calculate payslips?';
 const POINTER = 'Already sent earlier in this conversation';
 
+describe('dedup configuration', () => {
+  it('defaults off and requires an explicit truthy opt-in', () => {
+    const previous = process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
+    try {
+      delete process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
+      expect(exploreDedupEnabled()).toBe(false);
+      for (const enabled of ['1', 'true', 'on', 'yes', ' YES ']) {
+        process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP = enabled;
+        expect(exploreDedupEnabled()).toBe(true);
+      }
+      for (const disabled of ['0', 'false', 'off', 'no', 'unexpected']) {
+        process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP = disabled;
+        expect(exploreDedupEnabled()).toBe(false);
+      }
+    } finally {
+      if (previous === undefined) delete process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
+      else process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP = previous;
+    }
+  });
+});
+
 /** A prior-state shaped like the session tracker's, for the algebra tests. */
 function prior(files: Array<{ path: string; ranges: Array<[number, number]>; fingerprint?: string }>): ExploreProjectState {
   return {
@@ -183,8 +205,11 @@ describe('a second call against a real index', () => {
   let testDir: string;
   let cg: CodeGraph;
   let handler: ToolHandler;
+  let previousDedup: string | undefined;
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
+    previousDedup = process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
+    process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP = '1';
     testDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'codegraph-cg18-'));
     fs.cpSync(FIXTURE_SRC, testDir, { recursive: true });
     fs.rmSync(path.join(testDir, '.codegraph'), { recursive: true, force: true });
@@ -194,6 +219,8 @@ describe('a second call against a real index', () => {
   }, 120_000);
 
   afterAll(() => {
+    if (previousDedup === undefined) delete process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
+    else process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP = previousDedup;
     if (cg) cg.destroy();
     if (testDir && fs.existsSync(testDir)) fs.rmSync(testDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   });
@@ -328,6 +355,23 @@ describe('a second call against a real index', () => {
     }
   }, 120_000);
 
+  it('re-serves source by default when a connection may outlive the current context', async () => {
+    const session = new ExploreSessionState();
+    const previous = process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
+    delete process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
+    try {
+      const first = await explore(QUERY, session);
+      const second = await explore(QUERY, session);
+      expect(second).toBe(first);
+      expect(second).not.toContain(POINTER);
+      expect([...fencedLines(second).values()].reduce((sum, lines) => sum + lines.size, 0))
+        .toBeGreaterThan(20);
+    } finally {
+      if (previous === undefined) delete process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
+      else process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP = previous;
+    }
+  }, 120_000);
+
   it('reports the reclaimed bytes through the CG-4 diagnostic', async () => {
     const sidecar = path.join(testDir, 'cg18-diagnostic.jsonl');
     const session = new ExploreSessionState();
diff --git a/src/mcp/explore-dedup.ts b/src/mcp/explore-dedup.ts
index 541945c7d..f39f2211b 100644
--- a/src/mcp/explore-dedup.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/explore-dedup.ts
@@ -68,16 +68,19 @@ export const EXPLORE_DEDUP = {
   MAX_SYMBOLS_IN_POINTER: 5,
 } as const;
 
-const OFF = new Set(['0', 'false', 'off', 'no']);
+const ON = new Set(['1', 'true', 'on', 'yes']);
 
 /**
- * Kill switch: `CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP=0` renders every call as if the session
- * had no history. Read per call (not memoized) so a test can toggle it.
+ * Cross-call source suppression is opt-in. An MCP connection is not a reliable
+ * conversation boundary: some hosts reuse it for subagents, and compaction can
+ * discard source while keeping the connection alive (#1620). Without a host-
+ * supplied context lifecycle, re-serving source is the only always-correct
+ * default. Read per call (not memoized) so tests and launchers can toggle it.
  */
 export function exploreDedupEnabled(): boolean {
   const raw = process.env.CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEDUP;
-  if (raw === undefined) return true;
-  return !OFF.has(raw.trim().toLowerCase());
+  if (raw === undefined) return false;
+  return ON.has(raw.trim().toLowerCase());
 }
 
 /**