diff --git a/src/ghidra/GhidraProjectSnapshot.ts b/src/ghidra/GhidraProjectSnapshot.ts
index 75f85566e6..6257dbc0c4 100644
--- a/src/ghidra/GhidraProjectSnapshot.ts
+++ b/src/ghidra/GhidraProjectSnapshot.ts
@@ -23,11 +23,16 @@ import {
   RegularFileChangedError,
 } from "../filesystem/RegularFile.js";
 import { ConfigurationError } from "../domain/configurationErrors.js";
+import { AnalysisArtifactChangedError } from "../domain/analysisErrorCore.js";
 import { compareUnicodeCodePoints } from "../domain/unicodeCodePointOrder.js";
 import type { JsonValue } from "../domain/jsonValue.js";
 import type { GhidraProjectSelection } from "../config/ghidraExistingProject.js";
 import { ghidraProgramNameSchema } from "../config/ghidraExistingProject.js";
 
+/** Reason for a selected project whose content no longer matches its committed profile. */
+export const GHIDRA_PROJECT_PROFILE_MISMATCH =
+  "Selected Ghidra project content no longer matches the profile committed by open_binary; when it changed is not established";
+
 /** Classify file cancellation/cleanup before the generic provider boundary. */
 const projectFileOperation = async <Value>(
   path: string,
@@ -296,7 +301,13 @@ export const copyExistingGhidraProject = async (
           signal,
         )) !== expectedSha256
       )
-        throw new RegularFileChangedError(sourcePath);
+        // A digest mismatch shows only that the project differs from its
+        // committed profile, not when it changed relative to this copy.
+        throw new AnalysisArtifactChangedError(
+          "open_binary",
+          sourcePath,
+          GHIDRA_PROJECT_PROFILE_MISMATCH,
+        );
     }
   });
 };
diff --git a/src/ghidra/GhidraProvider.behavior.test.ts b/src/ghidra/GhidraProvider.behavior.test.ts
index 369d74d014..5663f10732 100644
--- a/src/ghidra/GhidraProvider.behavior.test.ts
+++ b/src/ghidra/GhidraProvider.behavior.test.ts
@@ -75,7 +75,12 @@ import {
   ghidraStartupTimeoutGuidance,
   type GhidraProviderClientFactory,
 } from "./GhidraProviderClient.js";
-import type { GhidraHeadlessLauncher } from "./GhidraLauncher.js";
+import {
+  GhidraLaunchError,
+  type GhidraHeadlessLauncher,
+} from "./GhidraLauncher.js";
+import { AnalysisArtifactChangedError } from "../domain/analysisErrorCore.js";
+import { GHIDRA_PROJECT_PROFILE_MISMATCH } from "./GhidraProjectSnapshot.js";
 import type { GhidraInstallationHost } from "./GhidraInstallation.js";
 import {
   GHIDRA_MUTATING_OPERATIONS,
@@ -4243,6 +4248,79 @@ describe("Ghidra missing project program", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("Ghidra changed project", () => {
+  const launchFailure = async (cause: unknown) => {
+    const root = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "rea-changed-project-"));
+    onTestFinished(async () => {
+      await rm(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    });
+    await mkdir(join(root, "selected.rep"));
+    await writeFile(join(root, "selected.gpr"), "marker");
+    const failure = new GhidraSessionError(
+      "start",
+      "Ghidra headless launch failed",
+      { failure_kind: "start" },
+      {
+        cause: new GhidraLaunchError("Ghidra headless launch failed", {
+          cause,
+        }),
+      },
+    );
+    const ghidra = provider(
+      installationHost(),
+      () => ({
+        start: async () => err(failure),
+        callTool: async () => err(failure),
+        close: async () => ok(null),
+      }),
+      { REA_GHIDRA_PROJECT_PATH: join(root, "selected.gpr") },
+    );
+    onTestFinished(async () => {
+      await ghidra.closeOwnedResources();
+    });
+    const target = executableTarget("elf", "x86_64");
+    const profile = await ghidra.resolveAnalysisProfile(target);
+    if (!profile.ok || profile.value.profile === null)
+      throw new Error("Expected Ghidra analysis profile");
+    const result = await ghidra
+      .createClient(target, profile.value.profile)
+      .execute("list_documents", {});
+    if (result.ok) throw new Error("Expected a Ghidra start failure");
+    return {
+      error: result.error,
+      projected: projectAnalysisError(result.error),
+    };
+  };
+
+  it("projects a source project changed before its verified copy as artifact_changed", async () => {
+    const path = "/projects/selected";
+    const reason = GHIDRA_PROJECT_PROFILE_MISMATCH;
+    const { error, projected } = await launchFailure(
+      new AnalysisArtifactChangedError("open_binary", path, reason),
+    );
+    expect(projected).toMatchObject({
+      code: "artifact_changed",
+      details: {
+        operation: "list_documents",
+        path,
+        reason,
+        boundary: "stable-artifact-read",
+      },
+    });
+    expect(projected.remediation.action).toBe(
+      projectAnalysisError(
+        new AnalysisArtifactChangedError("list_documents", path, reason),
+      ).remediation.action,
+    );
+    expect(error.cause).toBeInstanceOf(GhidraSessionError);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the generic start failure for other launch failures", async () => {
+    const { projected } = await launchFailure(new Error("spawn failed"));
+    expect(projected.code).toBe("execution_failure");
+  });
+});
+
 describe("Ghidra analysis seeds and configured language", () => {
   const seedSession = async (
     report: (sha256: string) => GhidraSeedReport | undefined,
diff --git a/src/ghidra/GhidraProviderClient.ts b/src/ghidra/GhidraProviderClient.ts
index 77bb0f1adf..a01afa9328 100644
--- a/src/ghidra/GhidraProviderClient.ts
+++ b/src/ghidra/GhidraProviderClient.ts
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ import {
 } from "./GhidraRiscvProfile.js";
 import { ghidraPePdbLimitations } from "./GhidraPeProfile.js";
 import { unverifiedGhidraBuildLimitation } from "./GhidraReleasePolicy.js";
-import { GhidraHeadlessLauncher } from "./GhidraLauncher.js";
+import { GhidraHeadlessLauncher, GhidraLaunchError } from "./GhidraLauncher.js";
 import { attestGhidraNativeLoadImage } from "./GhidraLoadImageAttest.js";
 import type { NativeAotPeResult } from "../domain/native/nativeAotPe.js";
 import { GhidraNativeAotSnapshotOwner } from "./GhidraNativeAotSnapshotOwner.js";
@@ -1197,8 +1197,16 @@ const projectPrimarySessionError = (
       ? {}
       : { partialObservation: failure.partialObservation }),
   };
+  // Launch-time copies, such as the verified existing-project copy, report a
+  // changed source as the launcher's primary failure; read it through the
+  // launch wrapper so the refusal keeps its typed projection.
+  const launchChange =
+    failure.cause instanceof GhidraLaunchError &&
+    failure.cause.primaryFailure instanceof AnalysisArtifactChangedError
+      ? failure.cause.primaryFailure
+      : undefined;
   const { cause: physicalCause, origin } = artifactFilePrimaryFacts(
-    failure.cause,
+    launchChange ?? failure.cause,
   );
   // A client-side ceiling refusal travels as the cause; re-attribute it to this
   // operation so callers see a typed resource constraint rather than a generic
diff --git a/tests/boundary/providers/ghidra/ghidraProjectSnapshot.test.ts b/tests/boundary/providers/ghidra/ghidraProjectSnapshot.test.ts
index 1f1e0a0033..effb563d4a 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/providers/ghidra/ghidraProjectSnapshot.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/providers/ghidra/ghidraProjectSnapshot.test.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { ArtifactResourceScope } from "../../../../src/artifacts/ArtifactResourc
 import {
   copyExistingGhidraProject,
   fingerprintGhidraProject,
+  GHIDRA_PROJECT_PROFILE_MISMATCH,
   resolveGhidraProject,
 } from "../../../../src/ghidra/GhidraProjectSnapshot.js";
 import { parseConfig } from "../../../../src/config/parseConfig.js";
@@ -85,7 +86,9 @@ it("rejects a project whose copied content differs from the committed analysis p
     }),
   ).rejects.toMatchObject({
     _tag: "AnalysisArtifactChangedError",
-    cause: { name: "RegularFileChangedError" },
+    operation: "open_binary",
+    path: source,
+    reason: GHIDRA_PROJECT_PROFILE_MISMATCH,
   });
 });