diff --git a/config/electron-builder.config.cjs b/config/electron-builder.config.cjs
index e731cb7f1..0a96abb6d 100644
--- a/config/electron-builder.config.cjs
+++ b/config/electron-builder.config.cjs
@@ -83,12 +83,17 @@ module.exports = {
     '!skill-guides{,/**/*}',
     '!skill-stubs{,/**/*}',
     '!tests{,/**/*}',
+    // Why: examples/ is plugin authoring documentation with no runtime consumer —
+    // bundled plugins ship via extraResources from resources/plugins/launch/. It also
+    // carries hostile-panel, the adversarial fixture the containment tests point at,
+    // which must never reach a user's install.
+    '!examples{,/**/*}',
     // Why: pr-evidence/ is a local e2e screenshot output (ORCA_CAPTURE_EVIDENCE);
     // it is gitignored, but exclude it defensively so a stray local capture at
     // package time never bloats app.asar.
     '!pr-evidence{,/**/*}',
     '!Casks{,/**/*}',
-    '!{AGENTS.md,CLAUDE.md,DEVELOPING.md,bundle-size-progress.md}',
+    '!{AGENTS.md,CLAUDE.md,DEVELOPING.md,bundle-size-progress.md,ORCHESTRATION_IMPLEMENTATION_CHECKLIST.md,ORCHESTRATION_STRUCTURED_OUTPUT_DESIGN.md}',
     '!out/**/*.test.js',
     // Why: Vite's manifest is only used to project the paired web client.
     '!out/renderer/.vite{,/**/*}',
diff --git a/config/scripts/electron-builder-config.test.mjs b/config/scripts/electron-builder-config.test.mjs
index 0d4c7dd71..442b7bd84 100644
--- a/config/scripts/electron-builder-config.test.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/electron-builder-config.test.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
 const require = createRequire(import.meta.url)
 const electronBuilderConfig = require('../electron-builder.config.cjs')
+const { FileMatcher } = require('app-builder-lib/out/fileMatcher')
 const electronBuilderNativeRebuild = require('./electron-builder-native-rebuild.cjs')
 const {
   createPackagedRuntimeNodeModuleResources,
@@ -38,15 +39,39 @@ describe('electron-builder config', () => {
         '!skill-stubs{,/**/*}',
         '!resources/skills/**',
         '!tests{,/**/*}',
+        '!examples{,/**/*}',
         '!pr-evidence{,/**/*}',
         '!Casks{,/**/*}',
-        '!{AGENTS.md,CLAUDE.md,DEVELOPING.md,bundle-size-progress.md}',
+        '!{AGENTS.md,CLAUDE.md,DEVELOPING.md,bundle-size-progress.md,ORCHESTRATION_IMPLEMENTATION_CHECKLIST.md,ORCHESTRATION_STRUCTURED_OUTPUT_DESIGN.md}',
         '!out/**/*.test.js',
         '!resources/plugins/launch/**'
       ])
     )
   })
 
+  // Why: `files` is an all-negation list, so electron-builder's default `**/*` packs
+  // anything without an explicit `!` entry — examples/ landed without one and shipped
+  // hostile-panel, the adversarial containment fixture, into 1.4.160-rc.3's app.asar.
+  // Drive the real matcher: pinning the pattern string cannot prove it excludes the tree.
+  it('keeps plugin authoring examples out of app.asar', () => {
+    const matcher = new FileMatcher('/app', '/dest', (value) => value, electronBuilderConfig.files)
+    // copyFiles() prepends this itself once the pattern list is all-negation.
+    matcher.prependPattern('**/*')
+    const isPacked = matcher.createFilter()
+    const packs = (repoPath) => isPacked(join('/app', repoPath), { isDirectory: () => false })
+
+    for (const authoringOnly of [
+      'examples/plugins/hostile-panel/panel.html',
+      'examples/plugins/hostile-panel/orca-plugin.json',
+      'examples/plugins/hello-orca/main.mjs',
+      'examples/plugins/hello-orca/orca-plugin.json'
+    ]) {
+      expect(packs(authoringOnly)).toBe(false)
+    }
+    // The negation stays anchored at the app root, so nested `examples` segments still ship.
+    expect(packs('out/main/examples/index.js')).toBe(true)
+  })
+
   it('keeps runtime resources available through extraResources', () => {
     const bundledPluginResources = expect.objectContaining({
       from: 'resources/plugins/launch',