diff --git a/skills/brainstorming/scripts/stop-server.sh b/skills/brainstorming/scripts/stop-server.sh
index a6b94e65..7d99d4b5 100755
--- a/skills/brainstorming/scripts/stop-server.sh
+++ b/skills/brainstorming/scripts/stop-server.sh
@@ -16,9 +16,27 @@ fi
 STATE_DIR="${SESSION_DIR}/state"
 PID_FILE="${STATE_DIR}/server.pid"
 
+# Confirm a PID is actually our brainstorm server (node running server.cjs),
+# not a reused/unrelated process whose PID was recycled into a stale pid file.
+is_brainstorm_server() {
+  kill -0 "$1" 2>/dev/null || return 1
+  case "$(ps -p "$1" -o command= 2>/dev/null)" in
+    *node*server.cjs*) return 0 ;;
+    *) return 1 ;;
+  esac
+}
+
 if [[ -f "$PID_FILE" ]]; then
   pid=$(cat "$PID_FILE")
 
+  # Refuse to signal a PID we can't prove is our server. A stale pid file may
+  # point at an unrelated process after a reboot/PID wraparound.
+  if ! is_brainstorm_server "$pid"; then
+    rm -f "$PID_FILE"
+    echo '{"status": "stale_pid"}'
+    exit 0
+  fi
+
   # Try to stop gracefully, fallback to force if still alive
   kill "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true
 
diff --git a/tests/brainstorm-server/stop-server.test.sh b/tests/brainstorm-server/stop-server.test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..76244202
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/brainstorm-server/stop-server.test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Tests for stop-server.sh PID-ownership safety.
+#
+# A stale server.pid (e.g. after a reboot, when the kernel has recycled the PID)
+# can point at an unrelated, live process. stop-server.sh must verify the PID is
+# actually our brainstorm server before signalling it.
+
+set -u
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+STOP="$SCRIPT_DIR/../../skills/brainstorming/scripts/stop-server.sh"
+SERVER="$SCRIPT_DIR/../../skills/brainstorming/scripts/server.cjs"
+
+PASS=0; FAIL=0
+ok() { echo "  PASS: $1"; PASS=$((PASS + 1)); }
+bad() { echo "  FAIL: $1"; echo "    $2"; FAIL=$((FAIL + 1)); }
+
+# --- Test 1: an unrelated, reused PID must NOT be killed ---
+SESS="$(mktemp -d)"; mkdir -p "$SESS/state"
+sleep 600 &
+UNRELATED=$!
+echo "$UNRELATED" > "$SESS/state/server.pid"
+OUT="$("$STOP" "$SESS")"
+if kill -0 "$UNRELATED" 2>/dev/null; then
+  case "$OUT" in
+    *stale_pid*) ok "unrelated reused PID is left alone (stale_pid)" ;;
+    *) bad "unrelated PID survived but status was not stale_pid" "$OUT" ;;
+  esac
+else
+  bad "unrelated reused PID was KILLED" "$OUT"
+fi
+kill -9 "$UNRELATED" 2>/dev/null
+rm -rf "$SESS"
+
+# --- Test 2: a real brainstorm server IS stopped ---
+SESS="$(mktemp -d)"; mkdir -p "$SESS/content" "$SESS/state"
+BRAINSTORM_DIR="$SESS" BRAINSTORM_PORT=3399 node "$SERVER" > /dev/null 2>&1 &
+SRV=$!
+for _ in $(seq 1 40); do kill -0 "$SRV" 2>/dev/null && break; sleep 0.1; done
+sleep 0.4
+echo "$SRV" > "$SESS/state/server.pid"
+OUT="$("$STOP" "$SESS")"
+sleep 0.3
+if kill -0 "$SRV" 2>/dev/null; then
+  bad "real brainstorm server still running after stop" "$OUT"
+  kill -9 "$SRV" 2>/dev/null
+else
+  case "$OUT" in
+    *stopped*) ok "real brainstorm server is stopped" ;;
+    *) bad "server stopped but status was not 'stopped'" "$OUT" ;;
+  esac
+fi
+rm -rf "$SESS"
+
+# --- Test 3: no pid file ---
+SESS="$(mktemp -d)"; mkdir -p "$SESS/state"
+OUT="$("$STOP" "$SESS")"
+case "$OUT" in
+  *not_running*) ok "missing pid file reports not_running" ;;
+  *) bad "missing pid file: unexpected status" "$OUT" ;;
+esac
+rm -rf "$SESS"
+
+echo "--- Results: $PASS passed, $FAIL failed ---"
+[ "$FAIL" -eq 0 ] || exit 1