diff --git a/src/commands/list/collect/mod.rs b/src/commands/list/collect/mod.rs
index 0f5a76bb6d..fede7cf113 100644
--- a/src/commands/list/collect/mod.rs
+++ b/src/commands/list/collect/mod.rs
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@
 //! │    ├─ switch_previous()                     (5ms)
 //! │    ├─ capture_refs[_with_ahead_behind]()    (ref snapshot)
 //! │    │    └─ prime_upstream_ahead_behind_cache()  (nested; reads the snapshot)
-//! │    ├─ start_fsmonitor_daemon × N worktrees  (6ms each, all parallel)
+//! │    ├─ start_fsmonitor_daemon × N worktrees  (socket probe; fork only when no daemon answers)
 //! │  )                                          // joins on the slowest spawn
 //! ├─ integration_targets(snapshot)              (sequential; needs the snapshot)
 //! ├─ populate ListItem.commit from cache        (cache-hit lookups, sub-ms)
@@ -163,7 +163,9 @@
 //!
 //! **Why fsmonitor starts are in the parallel scope:** The `git fsmonitor--daemon start`
 //! command returns quickly after signaling the daemon. By the time the worker thread
-//! starts executing `git status` commands, daemons have had time to initialize.
+//! starts executing `git status` commands, daemons have had time to initialize. In the
+//! steady state every daemon is already up, and the in-process socket probe in
+//! `start_fsmonitor_daemon_at` returns without forking.
 //!
 //! When adding new features, ask: "Can this be computed after skeleton?" If yes, defer it.
 //! The skeleton shows `·` placeholder for gutter symbols, filled in when data loads.
diff --git a/src/git/fsmonitor.rs b/src/git/fsmonitor.rs
index d61bd4a8c3..27180fcd6f 100644
--- a/src/git/fsmonitor.rs
+++ b/src/git/fsmonitor.rs
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ use super::WorkingTree;
 
 /// Basename of every fsmonitor IPC socket. Also the exact string `lsof`
 /// prints when the socket's directory has been deleted (orphan class 1).
-const IPC_SOCKET_NAME: &str = "fsmonitor--daemon.ipc";
+pub(crate) const IPC_SOCKET_NAME: &str = "fsmonitor--daemon.ipc";
 
 /// How long to wait for `SIGTERM`'d daemons to exit before escalating to
 /// `SIGKILL`. Bounded so the sweep can never stall `wt`. Daemons are wedged
diff --git a/src/git/remove.rs b/src/git/remove.rs
index ab29630d46..fee6cff235 100644
--- a/src/git/remove.rs
+++ b/src/git/remove.rs
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ pub fn stop_fsmonitor_daemon(worktree: &WorkingTree) {
     // linked worktree uses — never hand-construct `<path>/.git`). The daemon
     // binds its IPC socket at `<git-dir>/fsmonitor--daemon.ipc`.
     let socket = match worktree.git_dir() {
-        Ok(git_dir) => git_dir.join("fsmonitor--daemon.ipc"),
+        Ok(git_dir) => git_dir.join(super::fsmonitor::IPC_SOCKET_NAME),
         Err(e) => {
             tracing::debug!(error = %e, "fsmonitor: could not resolve git dir, skipping force-kill: {e}");
             return;
diff --git a/src/git/repository/mod.rs b/src/git/repository/mod.rs
index 9566e1e938..b750f5af4a 100644
--- a/src/git/repository/mod.rs
+++ b/src/git/repository/mod.rs
@@ -1841,12 +1841,29 @@ impl Repository {
     /// Idempotent — if the daemon is already running, this is a no-op.
     /// Used to avoid auto-start races when running many parallel git commands.
     ///
+    /// A running daemon is detected in-process first, the way `git
+    /// fsmonitor--daemon start` itself checks before refusing with "already
+    /// running": connect to `<git-dir>/fsmonitor--daemon.ipc` and close. That
+    /// skips a ~20ms fork per worktree in the steady state, where every daemon
+    /// is already up. Any failure to connect (no daemon, stale socket, a path
+    /// too long for `sun_path`, an unresolvable git dir) falls through to the
+    /// fork, which starts the daemon or reports it running.
+    ///
     /// Uses `Command::status()` with null stdio instead of `Cmd::run()` to avoid
     /// pipe inheritance: the daemon process (`git fsmonitor--daemon run --detach`)
     /// inherits pipe file descriptors from its parent, keeping them open
     /// indefinitely. `read_to_end()` in `Command::output()` then blocks forever
     /// waiting for EOF that never comes.
     pub fn start_fsmonitor_daemon_at(&self, path: &Path) {
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        if let Ok(git_dir) = self.worktree_at(path).git_dir()
+            && std::os::unix::net::UnixStream::connect(
+                git_dir.join(super::fsmonitor::IPC_SOCKET_NAME),
+            )
+            .is_ok()
+        {
+            return;
+        }
         let context = path_to_logging_context(path);
         let cmd_str = "git fsmonitor--daemon start";
         tracing::debug!(cmd = cmd_str, context = %context, "$ {cmd_str} [{context}]");
diff --git a/src/git/repository/tests.rs b/src/git/repository/tests.rs
index dd6332e0b1..02888b7e5d 100644
--- a/src/git/repository/tests.rs
+++ b/src/git/repository/tests.rs
@@ -705,6 +705,84 @@ fn is_builtin_fsmonitor_enabled_variants() {
     assert!(!repo_with_fsmonitor(None).is_builtin_fsmonitor_enabled());
 }
 
+/// A daemon answering on the worktree's IPC socket means no `git
+/// fsmonitor--daemon start` fork; with no socket to reach, the fork runs.
+/// The listener stands in for a running daemon, so no real daemon starts.
+#[cfg(all(unix, feature = "cli"))]
+#[test]
+fn start_fsmonitor_daemon_skips_fork_when_daemon_answers() {
+    use std::os::unix::net::UnixListener;
+    use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+
+    use tracing::field::{Field, Visit};
+    use tracing_subscriber::Registry;
+    use tracing_subscriber::layer::{Context, Layer, SubscriberExt};
+
+    use crate::git::Repository;
+    use crate::testing::{TestRepo, test_tempdir};
+    use crate::trace::WT_TRACE_TARGET;
+
+    /// Collects the `cmd` of every traced subprocess.
+    struct Commands(Arc<Mutex<Vec<String>>>);
+    struct CmdField(Option<String>);
+    impl Visit for CmdField {
+        fn record_str(&mut self, field: &Field, value: &str) {
+            if field.name() == "cmd" {
+                self.0 = Some(value.to_string());
+            }
+        }
+        fn record_debug(&mut self, _: &Field, _: &dyn std::fmt::Debug) {}
+    }
+    impl<S: tracing::Subscriber> Layer<S> for Commands {
+        fn on_event(&self, event: &tracing::Event<'_>, _: Context<'_, S>) {
+            if event.metadata().target() != WT_TRACE_TARGET {
+                return;
+            }
+            let mut cmd = CmdField(None);
+            event.record(&mut cmd);
+            self.0.lock().unwrap().extend(cmd.0);
+        }
+    }
+    let traced_starts = |start: &dyn Fn()| {
+        let commands = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new()));
+        let subscriber = Registry::default().with(Commands(commands.clone()));
+        tracing::subscriber::with_default(subscriber, start);
+        let commands = commands.lock().unwrap();
+        commands
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|cmd| *cmd == "git fsmonitor--daemon start")
+            .count()
+    };
+
+    let test = TestRepo::with_initial_commit();
+    let repo = Repository::at(test.root_path()).unwrap();
+    let socket = repo
+        .worktree_at(test.root_path())
+        .git_dir()
+        .unwrap()
+        .join(super::super::fsmonitor::IPC_SOCKET_NAME);
+    let listener = UnixListener::bind(&socket).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+        panic!(
+            "bind {} ({} bytes; sun_path holds 103 on macOS): {e}",
+            socket.display(),
+            socket.as_os_str().len()
+        )
+    });
+    listener.set_nonblocking(true).unwrap();
+
+    let starts = traced_starts(&|| repo.start_fsmonitor_daemon_at(test.root_path()));
+    assert_eq!(starts, 0, "a daemon answered, so nothing should fork");
+    listener
+        .accept()
+        .expect("the probe should have connected to the daemon socket");
+
+    // A directory outside any repository has no git dir to probe, so the
+    // start forks (and git exits "not a git repository").
+    let outside = test_tempdir();
+    let starts = traced_starts(&|| repo.start_fsmonitor_daemon_at(outside.path()));
+    assert_eq!(starts, 1, "nothing answered, so the start should fork");
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn commit_details_many_returns_subject_with_spaces() {
     use crate::testing::TestRepo;