diff --git a/backend/src/__tests__/stack-files-routes.test.ts b/backend/src/__tests__/stack-files-routes.test.ts
index 650d9f35..e5460bfc 100644
--- a/backend/src/__tests__/stack-files-routes.test.ts
+++ b/backend/src/__tests__/stack-files-routes.test.ts
@@ -391,9 +391,10 @@ describe('GET /api/stacks/:stackName/files/download', () => {
   });
 
   it('records the download metric exactly once per successful response', async () => {
-    // The metric recorder is wired to the file stream lifecycle and guarded
-    // by a flag so a single completion does not double-fire. A regression
-    // that drops the flag would push successCount to 2 for one download.
+    // The metric recorder is wired to both res.on("finish") and
+    // res.on("close"), guarded by a flag so a single completion does not
+    // double-fire. A regression that drops the flag would push successCount
+    // to 2 for one download.
     const { FileExplorerMetricsService } = await import('../services/FileExplorerMetricsService');
     FileExplorerMetricsService.resetForTests();
 
@@ -403,7 +404,7 @@ describe('GET /api/stacks/:stackName/files/download', () => {
       .set('Cookie', adminCookie);
     expect(res.status).toBe(200);
 
-    // Allow the stream lifecycle tail event to fire after the test's await.
+    // Allow the res.on('close') tail event to fire after the test's await.
     await new Promise<void>((r) => setTimeout(r, 50));
 
     const metricsRes = await request(app)
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/stacks.ts b/backend/src/routes/stacks.ts
index 881f8795..86aa4d44 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/stacks.ts
+++ b/backend/src/routes/stacks.ts
@@ -1459,14 +1459,15 @@ stacksRouter.get('/:stackName/files/download', async (req: Request, res: Respons
     const encodedFilename = encodeURIComponent(result.filename);
     const safeFilename = result.filename.replace(/[\\"]/g, '');
     res.setHeader('Content-Disposition', `attachment; filename="${safeFilename}"; filename*=UTF-8''${encodedFilename}`);
-    // Track download completion from the file stream, but treat a close after
-    // all bytes were read as success even if the response flags have not
-    // settled yet under the in-process supertest transport.
+    // Track download completion off the file stream's lifecycle, not the
+    // response's. Node's `res.on('finish')` and `res.on('close')` fire in
+    // platform-dependent order under the in-process supertest transport
+    // (close occasionally precedes finish, which made the success-vs-error
+    // recorder racy in CI). The file stream's `end`, `error`, and `close`
+    // events ARE deterministic: a clean read emits `end` then `close`; a
+    // destroy emits `close` without `end`; a disk error emits `error` then
+    // `close`. Hanging the recorder off these signals removes the race.
     let downloadRecorded = false;
-    const streamWithBytes = result.stream as typeof result.stream & { bytesRead?: number };
-    const hasReadFullFile = (): boolean => (
-      typeof streamWithBytes.bytesRead === 'number' && streamWithBytes.bytesRead >= result.size
-    );
     const recordDownloadOnce = (ok: boolean): void => {
       if (downloadRecorded) return;
       downloadRecorded = true;
@@ -1480,11 +1481,11 @@ stacksRouter.get('/:stackName/files/download', async (req: Request, res: Respons
     });
     result.stream.on('end', () => recordDownloadOnce(true));
     result.stream.on('close', () => {
-      if (res.writableEnded || hasReadFullFile()) recordDownloadOnce(true);
+      if (res.writableEnded) recordDownloadOnce(true);
       else recordDownloadOnce(false);
     });
-    res.on('close', () => {
-      if (!res.writableEnded && !hasReadFullFile()) result.stream.destroy();
+    req.on('close', () => {
+      if (!res.writableEnded) result.stream.destroy();
     });
     logFileDiag('download stream opened', { stackName, relPath, nodeId: req.nodeId, size: result.size, elapsedMs: Date.now() - startedAt });
     result.stream.pipe(res);