diff --git a/bin/omarchy-pkgs b/bin/omarchy-pkgs
index 73467fa5..673c079f 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-pkgs
+++ b/bin/omarchy-pkgs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ BUILD_ROOT=$(realpath "${BASH_SOURCE[0]%/*}/..")
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/message-helpers.sh"
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/paths.sh"
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/host-helpers.sh"
+source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/patch-helpers.sh"
 
 UPSTREAM_URL="${OMARCHY_UPSTREAM_URL:-https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy.git}"
 EDGE_DB_URL="${OMARCHY_EDGE_DB_URL:-https://pkgs.omarchy.org/edge/x86_64/omarchy.db.tar.zst}"
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ Commands:
   release beta|alpha [vX.Y.Z]    Same for beta/alpha channels
   release rc --commit <sha>      Untagged pre-release from a bare commit,
                                  auto-numbered past published edge + PKGBUILD
-  self-test                      Run version-normalization and ordering tests
+  self-test                      Run version, ordering, and overlay tests
 
 Options for release:
   --base <X.Y.Z>    (rc) Base version the RC leads up to (default: base of
@@ -635,6 +636,68 @@ cmd_self_test() {
     fi
   }
 
+  check_strict_patch_application() {
+    local fixture_root exact_patch fuzzy_patch missing_root
+    fixture_root=$(mktemp -d)
+    exact_patch="$fixture_root/exact.patch"
+    fuzzy_patch="$fixture_root/fuzzy.patch"
+    missing_root="$fixture_root/missing"
+
+    printf '%s\n' alpha beta gamma > "$fixture_root/example.txt"
+    printf '%s\n' \
+      '--- a/example.txt' \
+      '+++ b/example.txt' \
+      '@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@' \
+      ' alpha' \
+      '-beta' \
+      '+updated' \
+      ' gamma' > "$exact_patch"
+    if apply_patch_strict "$fixture_root" "$exact_patch" >/dev/null; then
+      echo "  ok: exact overlay context applies"
+    else
+      echo "  FAIL: exact overlay context was rejected"
+      failures=$((failures + 1))
+    fi
+
+    printf '%s\n' a B c d e > "$fixture_root/example.txt"
+    printf '%s\n' \
+      '--- a/example.txt' \
+      '+++ b/example.txt' \
+      '@@ -2,3 +2,3 @@' \
+      ' b' \
+      '-c' \
+      '+updated' \
+      ' d' > "$fuzzy_patch"
+    if (
+      cd "$fixture_root"
+      patch -p1 --forward --batch --no-backup-if-mismatch < "$fuzzy_patch"
+    ) >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      printf '%s\n' a B c d e > "$fixture_root/example.txt"
+      if apply_patch_strict "$fixture_root" "$fuzzy_patch" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        echo "  FAIL: fuzzy overlay context was accepted"
+        failures=$((failures + 1))
+      else
+        echo "  ok: fuzzy overlay context is rejected"
+      fi
+    else
+      echo "  FAIL: fuzz fixture no longer demonstrates permissive patch behavior"
+      failures=$((failures + 1))
+    fi
+
+    printf '%s\n' alpha beta gamma > "$fixture_root/example.txt"
+    if apply_patch_strict "$missing_root" "$exact_patch" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      echo "  FAIL: missing package directory was accepted"
+      failures=$((failures + 1))
+    elif [[ "$(cat "$fixture_root/example.txt")" == $'alpha\nbeta\ngamma' ]]; then
+      echo "  ok: missing package directory stops before patch"
+    else
+      echo "  FAIL: patch ran outside the missing package directory"
+      failures=$((failures + 1))
+    fi
+
+    rm -rf "$fixture_root"
+  }
+
   print_header "omarchy-pkgs self-test"
 
   echo "Tag normalization:"
@@ -671,6 +734,9 @@ cmd_self_test() {
   version_is_rc 4.0.0rc1 && echo "  ok: 4.0.0rc1 is rc" || { echo "  FAIL: version_is_rc positive"; failures=$((failures + 1)); }
   version_is_rc 4.0.0 && { echo "  FAIL: version_is_rc negative"; failures=$((failures + 1)); } || echo "  ok: 4.0.0 is not rc"
 
+  echo "Overlay application:"
+  check_strict_patch_application
+
   echo ""
   if [[ "$failures" -eq 0 ]]; then
     print_success "Self-test passed"
diff --git a/bin/package-worktree b/bin/package-worktree
index 8deca925..366de2c8 100755
--- a/bin/package-worktree
+++ b/bin/package-worktree
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ BUILD_ROOT=$(realpath "${BASH_SOURCE[0]%/*}/..")
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/message-helpers.sh"
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/paths.sh"
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/package-metadata.sh"
+source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/patch-helpers.sh"
 
 PACKAGE=""
 DEST_DIR=""
@@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ apply_omarchy_patches() {
   local patch_file
   for patch_file in "${patch_files[@]}"; do
     print_info "  Applying $(basename "$patch_file")"
-    if ! (cd "$package_dir" && patch -p1 --forward --batch --no-backup-if-mismatch < "$patch_file"); then
+    if ! apply_patch_strict "$package_dir" "$patch_file"; then
       print_error "Failed to apply patch: $patch_file"
       return 2
     fi
diff --git a/bin/sync-aur b/bin/sync-aur
index 59af6ca9..31ee8ea8 100755
--- a/bin/sync-aur
+++ b/bin/sync-aur
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ BUILD_ROOT=$(realpath "${BASH_SOURCE[0]%/*}/..")
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/message-helpers.sh"
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/paths.sh"
 source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/package-metadata.sh"
+source "$BUILD_ROOT/helpers/patch-helpers.sh"
 
 TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
 trap 'rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"' EXIT
@@ -191,7 +192,7 @@ apply_omarchy_patches() {
   local patch_file
   for patch_file in "${patch_files[@]}"; do
     print_info "  $(basename "$patch_file")"
-    if ! (cd "$package_dir" && patch -p1 --forward --batch --no-backup-if-mismatch < "$patch_file"); then
+    if ! apply_patch_strict "$package_dir" "$patch_file"; then
       print_error "Failed to apply patch: $patch_file"
       return 2
     fi
diff --git a/helpers/patch-helpers.sh b/helpers/patch-helpers.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7c360e35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/helpers/patch-helpers.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+apply_patch_strict() {
+  local package_dir="$1"
+  local patch_file="$2"
+
+  (
+    cd "$package_dir" || exit 1
+    patch -p1 --forward --batch --fuzz=0 --no-backup-if-mismatch < "$patch_file"
+  )
+}