diff --git a/docs/architecture/decisions/004-exit-code-on-control-chunk.md b/docs/architecture/decisions/004-exit-code-on-control-chunk.md
index b437b51..8b0df96 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/decisions/004-exit-code-on-control-chunk.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/decisions/004-exit-code-on-control-chunk.md
@@ -63,10 +63,14 @@ not data (process output). It rides on the control channel
 {"type":"exit","code":0}
 ```
 
-The `code` is an `i32` (matches `std::process::ExitStatus::code()` and
-Unix wait-status convention; negative values are signal-terminated,
-e.g., `-9` for SIGKILL, matching `ExitStatus::code()`'s behavior on
-Unix). The chunk is the last control chunk before stream close.
+The `code` is an `i32` in this crate's exit-status convention:
+`ExitStatus::code()` on normal exit; on Unix, the negative signal
+number on signal-terminated exit (e.g., `-9` for SIGKILL) — the same
+convention as Python's `subprocess.Popen.returncode`. It is **not**
+`ExitStatus::code()`'s behavior, which returns `None` for signal
+termination (the encoding comes from `ExitStatusExt::signal()`, see
+`src/local/pipe.rs::exit_code_from`). The chunk is the last control
+chunk before stream close.
 
 ### 2. The "exit chunk is last" invariant
 
@@ -156,15 +160,19 @@ the completion notification.
   code. That's correct — a cancelled stream doesn't have a
   deterministic exit; the client that cancels already knows it
   cancelled. The exit chunk is for the client that reads to completion.
-- The `-1` error-exit code conflates "the backend couldn't determine
-  the exit" with "the process exited with code -1" (which doesn't
-  happen on Unix — `ExitStatus::code()` returns `None` for signal
-  termination, not -1; the POC's waiter thread sends -1 only on
-  `wait()` failure, not on signal termination — signal termination
-  sends the negative signal number, e.g., -9 for SIGKILL). A client
-  that needs to distinguish "real exit -1" from "backend error" can't
-  from the code alone. This is a documented edge case; if it becomes
-  load-bearing, a future control message type
+- The `-1` sentinel collides with a real SIGHUP termination on the
+  Unix pipe path: signal-terminated children are encoded `-N`, so
+  SIGHUP (signal 1) encodes as exactly `-1` — the same value the
+  adapter sends for a backend wait failure. A client can't
+  distinguish a real SIGHUP termination from a backend wait failure
+  from the code alone. The collision is narrow in practice (the usual
+  way a pipe-mode child receives SIGHUP is a client-sent
+  `Signal { name: "HUP" }` control chunk, which the client knows it
+  sent), but it is real for any other SIGHUP source. Note
+  `std::process::ExitStatus::code()` cannot itself cause the
+  collision — it returns `None` for signal termination, so this
+  conflation exists only through this crate's `-N` encoding. If
+  distinguishing becomes load-bearing, a future control message type
   (`{"type":"exit_error","message":"..."}`) can carry the distinction
   additively (the `type`-tagged enum is the extension seam per
   ADR-001).
diff --git a/docs/architecture/tty-wire.md b/docs/architecture/tty-wire.md
index e7ef4a3..0be8b77 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/tty-wire.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/tty-wire.md
@@ -270,9 +270,13 @@ were indistinguishable on the same stream_type.
 backend's default kill (see [tty-local.md](tty-local.md) REQ-TTY-02 —
 `portable_pty`'s `ChildKiller::kill` sends SIGHUP).
 
-**Exit code.** `code` is `i32` (matches `std::process::ExitStatus::code()`;
-negative values are signal-terminated, e.g., -9 for SIGKILL on Unix). The
-exit chunk is the last control chunk before stream close (ADR-004).
+**Exit code.** `code` is `i32`: `ExitStatus::code()` on normal exit; on
+Unix, the negative signal number on signal-terminated exit — the crate's
+own convention, not `ExitStatus::code()`'s, which returns `None` for
+signal termination. `-1` is the adapter's "could not determine" sentinel
+and (via the `-N` encoding) the SIGHUP value — the SIGHUP/sentinel
+collision is a documented edge case (ADR-004). The exit chunk is the
+last control chunk before stream close (ADR-004).
 
 **Extensibility.** The `type` tag is the extension seam: new control
 message types are added by extending the tagged enum. Unknown `type`
diff --git a/src/control.rs b/src/control.rs
index a236575..b62211c 100644
--- a/src/control.rs
+++ b/src/control.rs
@@ -85,10 +85,13 @@ pub enum ControlMessage {
     Eof,
     /// Process exit code (server→client, `STREAM_CTRL_OUT`). The exit
     /// chunk is the last control chunk before stream close (ADR-055).
-    /// `code` is `i32` matching `std::process::ExitStatus::code()`;
-    /// negative values are signal-terminated (e.g., `-9` for SIGKILL on
-    /// Unix). `-1` is the adapter's best-effort "backend could not
-    /// determine the exit code" sentinel (ADR-055 §4).
+    /// `code` is `i32`: `ExitStatus::code()` on normal exit; on Unix,
+    /// the negative signal number on signal-terminated exit (e.g.,
+    /// `-9` for SIGKILL — the crate's convention, not
+    /// `ExitStatus::code()`'s, which returns `None` there). `-1` is
+    /// the adapter's best-effort "backend could not determine the
+    /// exit code" sentinel (ADR-055 §4) — colliding with the SIGHUP
+    /// encoding on the Unix pipe path.
     Exit { code: i32 },
 }
 
diff --git a/src/local/pipe.rs b/src/local/pipe.rs
index 3c75292..8b982bf 100644
--- a/src/local/pipe.rs
+++ b/src/local/pipe.rs
@@ -283,8 +283,10 @@ impl Drop for PipeExitFuture {
 
 /// Map an `ExitStatus` to the adapter's `i32` exit code: `code()` on normal
 /// exit; on Unix, the negative signal number on signal-terminated exit
-/// (matches `std` convention and ADR-055 §4). Falls back to `-1` (the
-/// adapter's "could not determine" sentinel — ADR-055 §4).
+/// (ADR-055 §4's convention — `ExitStatus::code()` returns `None` for
+/// signal termination, so this crate's encoding is via
+/// `ExitStatusExt::signal()`). Falls back to `-1` (the adapter's
+/// "could not determine" sentinel — ADR-055 §4).
 fn exit_code_from(status: ExitStatus) -> i32 {
     if let Some(code) = status.code() {
         return code;
diff --git a/src/session.rs b/src/session.rs
index 36cadbb..8babe04 100644
--- a/src/session.rs
+++ b/src/session.rs
@@ -509,10 +509,13 @@ impl TtySession {
 
     /// Await the `Exit` control chunk and return the process exit
     /// code. The exit chunk is the last control chunk before stream
-    /// close (ADR-055). `code` is `i32` matching
-    /// `std::process::ExitStatus::code()`; negative values are
-    /// signal-terminated, `-1` is the adapter's best-effort "backend
-    /// could not determine the exit code" sentinel.
+    /// close (ADR-055). `code` is `i32`: `ExitStatus::code()` on
+    /// normal exit; on Unix, the negative signal number on
+    /// signal-terminated exit (e.g., `-15` for SIGTERM — the crate's
+    /// convention, not `ExitStatus::code()`'s, which returns `None`
+    /// there). `-1` is the adapter's best-effort "backend could not
+    /// determine the exit code" sentinel — colliding with the SIGHUP
+    /// encoding on the Unix pipe path (ADR-055 §4).
     ///
     /// Returns [`TtySessionError::NoExitChunk`] if the session ends
     /// (server closed the stream) before an exit chunk is observed.