diff --git a/cmd/server/tests/extractor_version_test.go b/cmd/server/tests/extractor_version_test.go
index 61864615..31084783 100644
--- a/cmd/server/tests/extractor_version_test.go
+++ b/cmd/server/tests/extractor_version_test.go
@@ -17,11 +17,9 @@ package main
 //	equal   → stable (second corruption persists)
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
-	"net/http"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strconv"
@@ -58,14 +56,11 @@ func corruptItemColumn(t *testing.T, setup *TestServerSetup, itemID pgtype.UUID,
 
 func setExtractorVersion(t *testing.T, setup *TestServerSetup, v int) {
 	t.Helper()
-	body, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]string{"key": "scan_extractor_version", "value": strconv.Itoa(v)})
-	req, _ := http.NewRequest("PUT", setup.Server.URL+"/api/system/settings", bytes.NewBuffer(body))
-	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
-	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+setup.Token)
-	resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	defer func() { _ = resp.Body.Close() }()
-	require.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, resp.StatusCode, "settings API is the only sanctioned write path")
+	// Restore-to-prior (not a hardcoded value): the shared dev DB's
+	// setting must survive the suite exactly as the test found it — if a
+	// parser-fix bump was in flight, a hardcoded 1 would silently cancel
+	// it and the live server would stop re-extracting.
+	setSystemSettingRestored(t, setup, "scan_extractor_version", strconv.Itoa(v))
 }
 
 func TestExtractorVersionReextract(t *testing.T) {
@@ -123,7 +118,8 @@ func TestExtractorVersionReextract(t *testing.T) {
 	// re-extract once: the corruption heals and the fresh manifest
 	// carries ev=2.
 	setExtractorVersion(t, setup, 2)
-	t.Cleanup(func() { setExtractorVersion(t, setup, 1) })
+	// Prior-value restore rides inside setExtractorVersion — never a
+	// hardcoded 1, so a deliberate dev bump survives the suite.
 	scanTestFolder(t, setup, admin, folder)
 	item, found = findAudioItemByPath(t, setup, libID, filepath.ToSlash("EV Probe Author/EV Probe Book/EV Probe Book.epub"))
 	require.True(t, found)
@@ -168,7 +164,8 @@ func TestExtractorVersionMultifile(t *testing.T) {
 	// Bump → the ev gate fires through multifileSidecarChanged → the
 	// editorial apply re-derives the title from the folder basename.
 	setExtractorVersion(t, setup, 2)
-	t.Cleanup(func() { setExtractorVersion(t, setup, 1) })
+	// Prior-value restore rides inside setExtractorVersion — never a
+	// hardcoded 1, so a deliberate dev bump survives the suite.
 	scanTestFolder(t, setup, admin, folder)
 	book, found = findAudioItemByPath(t, setup, libID, filepath.ToSlash("EV Audio Author/EV Audio Title"))
 	require.True(t, found)
diff --git a/cmd/server/tests/phase13_test.go b/cmd/server/tests/phase13_test.go
index 6ddce7d5..a6bee305 100644
--- a/cmd/server/tests/phase13_test.go
+++ b/cmd/server/tests/phase13_test.go
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@ import (
 // the default 1 for the test's duration. Prior interrupted runs can
 // leave it bumped (an early test failure aborts before its restore
 // cleanup registers), and every stamp assertion in these tests assumes
-// the default. The cleanup restores 1 — the repo's steady state.
+// the default. Restore-to-prior rides inside setExtractorVersion: the
+// suite leaves the setting exactly as it found it.
 func pinExtractorVersionOne(t *testing.T, setup *TestServerSetup) {
 	t.Helper()
 	setExtractorVersion(t, setup, 1)
-	t.Cleanup(func() { setExtractorVersion(t, setup, 1) })
 }
 
 // forceScanTestFolder runs a FORCE scan over one folder.
diff --git a/cmd/server/tests/test_helpers_test.go b/cmd/server/tests/test_helpers_test.go
index ca84928a..7c1ea82a 100644
--- a/cmd/server/tests/test_helpers_test.go
+++ b/cmd/server/tests/test_helpers_test.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/go-playground/validator/v10"
 	"github.com/google/uuid"
+	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5"
 	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgtype"
 	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool"
 	"github.com/labstack/echo/v5"
@@ -181,6 +182,54 @@ func getUploadPath() string {
 	return "./uploads" // Host path (left side of volume mount)
 }
 
+// setSystemSettingRestored writes a system setting through the sanctioned
+// API path and registers a cleanup that restores the value the row had
+// BEFORE the write. The testuser-experience rule: the suite must leave
+// shared settings exactly as it found them — a hardcoded restore would
+// silently clobber a deliberate dev bump (e.g. scan_extractor_version
+// pinned mid-deploy), and the live dev server obeys this setting on its
+// next poll, so what tests write here reaches real scans.
+//
+// Writes ride the settings API (never raw SQL) because the registry
+// caches values and only the API path reloads it. If the row did not
+// exist before the write, the test value is left in place and the test
+// log says so — there is no sanctioned delete; settings rows that
+// matter (scan_extractor_version) always exist.
+func setSystemSettingRestored(t *testing.T, setup *TestServerSetup, key, value string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	var prior *string
+	err := setup.DBPool.QueryRow(context.Background(),
+		`SELECT setting_value FROM system_settings WHERE setting_key = $1`, key).Scan(&prior)
+	if err != nil && err != pgx.ErrNoRows {
+		require.NoError(t, err, "failed to read prior value of %s", key)
+	}
+
+	setSettingViaAPI(t, setup, key, value)
+
+	if prior == nil {
+		t.Logf("setSystemSettingRestored: %s had no prior row; leaving %q in place after the test", key, value)
+		return
+	}
+	priorValue := *prior
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		setSettingViaAPI(t, setup, key, priorValue)
+	})
+}
+
+// setSettingViaAPI PUTs one setting through /api/system/settings — the
+// only sanctioned write path (the settings registry reloads here).
+func setSettingViaAPI(t *testing.T, setup *TestServerSetup, key, value string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	body, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]string{"key": key, "value": value})
+	req, _ := http.NewRequest("PUT", setup.Server.URL+"/api/system/settings", bytes.NewBuffer(body))
+	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+setup.Token)
+	resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer func() { _ = resp.Body.Close() }()
+	require.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, resp.StatusCode, "settings API is the only sanctioned write path")
+}
+
 // getCachePath returns the appropriate cache path based on runtime environment
 func getCachePath() string {
 	// Check for explicit override first