diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index bade001..c557d93 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -241,17 +241,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build
         run: cmake --build build/release --parallel
 
-      # patch-efsw.cmake patch 2 fixed the FSEvents teardown abort (exit 134),
-      # so the whole FileWatcherTest suite no longer needs excluding — 8/9 pass
-      # on macOS (start/stop/create/modify/recursive/double-stop).
-      # One narrow exclusion remains:
-      #   * DetectsFileDelete — efsw's FSEvents backend delivers an event on
-      #     unlink but does not classify it as Action::Delete (its handleAddModDel
-      #     gates Delete on flags&ItemRemoved && !exists; the real flag bits need
-      #     observing on-device via efDEBUG). Create/Modify detection works.
-      #     Tracked follow-up; not the teardown crash.
+      # Full unit suite, no exclusions. The FSEvents teardown abort is fixed
+      # (patch-efsw.cmake patch 2) and the macOS delete-detection gap is fixed
+      # in watcher.cpp: on_efsw_event now treats a vanished path as Remove
+      # regardless of the coalesced FSEvents label, so DetectsFileDelete passes.
       - name: Test (unit suite)
-        run: ./build/release/tests/lci_tests "--gtest_filter=-FileWatcherTest.DetectsFileDelete"
+        run: ./build/release/tests/lci_tests
 
   # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   # Benchmarks — self-hosted Linux, main only. Numbers go to the job log; no
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 639ae5d..388f480 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -179,12 +179,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build
         run: cmake --build build/release --parallel
 
-      # FSEvents teardown abort fixed by patch-efsw.cmake (drains+releases the
-      # dispatch queue on teardown). Only DetectsFileDelete stays excluded on
-      # macOS — efsw doesn't classify an FSEvents unlink as Action::Delete
-      # (tracked follow-up; see ci.yml macOS leg).
+      # Full unit suite, no exclusions — FSEvents teardown abort fixed in
+      # patch-efsw.cmake, and the delete-detection gap fixed in watcher.cpp
+      # (vanished path -> Remove regardless of the coalesced FSEvents label).
       - name: Test (unit suite)
-        run: ./build/release/tests/lci_tests "--gtest_filter=-FileWatcherTest.DetectsFileDelete"
+        run: ./build/release/tests/lci_tests
 
       - name: Package
         run: |
diff --git a/src/indexing/watcher.cpp b/src/indexing/watcher.cpp
index 3d28e08..567503f 100644
--- a/src/indexing/watcher.cpp
+++ b/src/indexing/watcher.cpp
@@ -202,12 +202,27 @@ void FileWatcher::on_efsw_event(const std::string& dir,
 
     if (!should_process_path(full_path)) return;
 
+    // Trust the filesystem over the backend's event label: a path that no
+    // longer exists is a removal. macOS FSEvents coalesces events and can hand
+    // us a Write/Create-labelled event for a file that was ultimately deleted,
+    // so the Remove would never surface otherwise. No-op on Linux/Windows,
+    // whose backends already label deletes (gone file -> Remove stays Remove).
+    if (type != FileEventType::Remove) {
+        std::error_code exist_ec;
+        if (!fs::exists(full_path, exist_ec)) {
+            type = FileEventType::Remove;
+        }
+    }
+
     // Size cap: skip files exceeding max_file_size to match the prior
-    // behaviour (avoids re-indexing huge generated artefacts).
-    auto file_size = fs::file_size(full_path, ec);
-    if (!ec && file_size >
-                   static_cast<uintmax_t>(config_.index.max_file_size)) {
-        return;
+    // behaviour (avoids re-indexing huge generated artefacts). A removed file
+    // has no size (file_size sets ec), so removals are never skipped here.
+    if (type != FileEventType::Remove) {
+        auto file_size = fs::file_size(full_path, ec);
+        if (!ec && file_size >
+                       static_cast<uintmax_t>(config_.index.max_file_size)) {
+            return;
+        }
     }
 
     dispatch_event(full_path, type);