diff --git a/crates/kebab-app/tests/ingest_cancel.rs b/crates/kebab-app/tests/ingest_cancel.rs
index 6c328f4..bab94d8 100644
--- a/crates/kebab-app/tests/ingest_cancel.rs
+++ b/crates/kebab-app/tests/ingest_cancel.rs
@@ -80,11 +80,12 @@ fn cancel_mid_loop_after_first_asset_keeps_idempotent_resume() {
     let report = run_with(&env, cancel, Some(tx));
     listener.join().unwrap();
 
-    // Exactly 1 asset committed; remaining 2 skipped (untouched).
-    assert!(
-        report.new == 1 || report.new == 0 || report.new == 2,
-        "non-deterministic but must be < 3: {report:?}"
-    );
+    // cancel-mid is timing-dependent: the listener flips cancel
+    // after the first AssetFinished, but the loop may have started
+    // 1 more asset by the time the next iteration check runs.
+    // 0 (race won by listener), 1 (first only), or 2 (one extra
+    // slipped in) are all valid outcomes; report.new == 3 means
+    // cancel never propagated and is the only failure mode.
     assert!(report.new < 3, "loop should have broken: {report:?}");
 
     // Idempotent re-ingest finishes the job.
diff --git a/crates/kebab-cli/src/cancel.rs b/crates/kebab-cli/src/cancel.rs
index 7c41e66..8e11f9e 100644
--- a/crates/kebab-cli/src/cancel.rs
+++ b/crates/kebab-cli/src/cancel.rs
@@ -38,6 +38,14 @@ pub fn install_sigint_cancel() -> anyhow::Result<Arc<AtomicBool>> {
     let cancel_for_handler = cancel.clone();
     // Per-process count of received SIGINTs. Static so the closure
     // owns no extra state; first signal flips cancel, second exits.
+    //
+    // Process-lifetime: never reset. ctrlc::set_handler rejects
+    // multi-install with `Err(MultipleHandlers)`, so this counter
+    // is effectively single-use per `kebab` invocation. A future
+    // command that needs its own cancel token (e.g. `kebab eval
+    // run --with-cancel`) must factor the install path into a
+    // helper that takes the token as an arg and shares it across
+    // callers — not call `install_sigint_cancel` twice.
     static SIGNAL_COUNT: AtomicU8 = AtomicU8::new(0);
     ctrlc::set_handler(move || {
         let prev = SIGNAL_COUNT.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);