diff --git a/tools/push3-evolution/evolution-daemon.sh b/tools/push3-evolution/evolution-daemon.sh
index 9a24563..7dbf8cc 100755
--- a/tools/push3-evolution/evolution-daemon.sh
+++ b/tools/push3-evolution/evolution-daemon.sh
@@ -121,7 +121,9 @@ ts() {
 notify() {
   local msg="$*"
   if [ -n "$OPENCLAW_SSH_TARGET" ]; then
-    ssh "$OPENCLAW_SSH_TARGET" "openclaw system event '$msg'" 2>/dev/null || true
+    # Pass message via stdin to avoid shell-quoting issues with special characters.
+    printf '%s\n' "$msg" | \
+      ssh "$OPENCLAW_SSH_TARGET" 'read -r _msg; openclaw system event "$_msg"' 2>/dev/null || true
   fi
 }
 
@@ -190,7 +192,9 @@ while true; do
       PATCH_APPLIED=true
       log "  Patches applied OK"
     else
-      log "  WARNING: patch failed to apply — running without evolution-specific overrides"
+      log "  ERROR: patch failed to apply — skipping run (evaluation semantics would differ from intended)"
+      log "  Hint: evolution.patch may need regeneration if onchain/ files changed upstream."
+      continue
     fi
   else
     log "[2/7] No patch file — skipping"
@@ -211,27 +215,24 @@ while true; do
 
   log "[4/7] Starting evolve.sh…"
 
-  DIVERSE_FLAG=""
-  [ "$DIVERSE_SEEDS" = "true" ] && DIVERSE_FLAG="--diverse-seeds"
+  # Build argument array — avoids unquoted variable word-splitting.
+  EVOLVE_ARGS=(
+    --seed "$SEED"
+    --population "$POPULATION"
+    --generations "$GENERATIONS"
+    --mutation-rate "$MUTATION_RATE"
+    --elites "$ELITES"
+    --output "$OUTPUT_DIR"
+  )
+  [ "$DIVERSE_SEEDS" = "true" ] && EVOLVE_ARGS+=(--diverse-seeds)
 
+  # Stream evolve.sh output directly — do NOT buffer via $(...).
+  # A full run can take tens of minutes; buffering would make the daemon
+  # appear hung with no generation-level progress visible.
   EVOLVE_EC=0
-  EVOLVE_OUT=""
-  EVOLVE_OUT=$(
-    EVAL_MODE="$EVAL_MODE" \
-    BASE_RPC_URL="$BASE_RPC_URL" \
-    bash "$EVOLVE_SH" \
-      --seed "$SEED" \
-      --population "$POPULATION" \
-      --generations "$GENERATIONS" \
-      --mutation-rate "$MUTATION_RATE" \
-      --elites "$ELITES" \
-      --output "$OUTPUT_DIR" \
-      $DIVERSE_FLAG \
-      2>&1
-  ) || EVOLVE_EC=$?
-
-  # Always print evolve.sh output for visibility.
-  printf '%s\n' "$EVOLVE_OUT" >&2
+  EVAL_MODE="$EVAL_MODE" \
+  BASE_RPC_URL="$BASE_RPC_URL" \
+  bash "$EVOLVE_SH" "${EVOLVE_ARGS[@]}" || EVOLVE_EC=$?
 
   if [ "$EVOLVE_EC" -ne 0 ]; then
     log "  WARNING: evolve.sh exited $EVOLVE_EC — results may be incomplete"
@@ -293,7 +294,7 @@ PYEOF
   # ── Steps 6 (seed admission already done by evolve.sh) ──────────────────────
   # evolve.sh step 5 handles pool admission automatically.
 
-  # ── Step 7: Write summary report ────────────────────────────────────────────
+  # ── Step 6: Write summary report ────────────────────────────────────────────
 
   RUN_END="$(date +%s)"
   DURATION=$(( RUN_END - RUN_START ))
diff --git a/tools/push3-evolution/evolution.conf b/tools/push3-evolution/evolution.conf
index 52239e9..e76ec90 100644
--- a/tools/push3-evolution/evolution.conf
+++ b/tools/push3-evolution/evolution.conf
@@ -17,14 +17,15 @@ MUTATION_RATE=1
 ELITES=2
 DIVERSE_SEEDS=true
 
-# ── Evolution-specific overrides (applied via evolution.patch) ──────────────────
-# GAS_LIMIT: production cap is 200 000; evolution uses 500 000 to allow larger
-#            programs that are still worth exploring before gas optimisation.
-GAS_LIMIT=500000
-
-# ANCHOR_WIDTH_UNBOUNDED: removes the MAX_ANCHOR_WIDTH=100 production cap so
-#                         programs can explore the full uint24 tick-width space.
-ANCHOR_WIDTH_UNBOUNDED=true
+# ── Evolution-specific overrides — DOCUMENTATION ONLY ──────────────────────────
+# These two variables are NOT read by evolution-daemon.sh at runtime.
+# They document the semantic intent of evolution.patch, which is the actual
+# mechanism that changes the compiled Solidity constants before each run.
+# Editing these values here has NO runtime effect; to change the overrides,
+# regenerate evolution.patch (see the patch file for instructions).
+#
+# GAS_LIMIT=500000         (patch raises CALCULATE_PARAMS_GAS_LIMIT 200k→500k)
+# ANCHOR_WIDTH_UNBOUNDED=true  (patch sets MAX_ANCHOR_WIDTH to type(uint24).max)
 
 # ── Notification (openclaw) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # SSH target for `openclaw system event` notifications.