diff --git a/cli/CHANGELOG.md b/cli/CHANGELOG.md
index a93dbd7e..15508de4 100644
--- a/cli/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/cli/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # Mops CLI Changelog
 
 ## Next
+- Fix race conditions when two `mops` processes run on the same project (e.g. an editor watcher and `caffeine check --fix`, or back-to-back invocations). `mops check-stable` used a shared `.mops/.check-stable/` scratch dir and `mops check`/`build`/`check-stable` used a shared `<parent>/.migrations-<canister>/` staging dir; concurrent runs would clobber each other and surface as misleading errors like `.mops/.check-stable/new.most: No such file or directory` or `EEXIST: file already exists, symlink ...`. Both directories are now per-invocation (created via `mkdtemp` and removed when the command finishes).
 - Deprecate `skipIfMissing` in `[canisters.<name>.check-stable]`. Behavior is unchanged for now, but `mops check`/`check-stable` print a warning when it is set. For initial deployments, commit a `.most` file at the configured `path` containing an empty actor (`// Version: 1.0.0\nactor { };`) instead — the stable check then runs against an empty baseline.
 - Drop the "you may need a migration" hint after a failed stable compatibility check in `mops check`/`check-stable`. The hint guessed at whether the user needed a new migration or a fix to an existing one, and `moc`'s underlying compatibility error already links to the migration docs.
 - The missing-chain-directory error from `mops check`/`build`/`check-stable` now points at adding a `.mo` file to the `chain` directory instead of running the experimental `mops migrate new <Name>` command.
diff --git a/cli/commands/check-stable.ts b/cli/commands/check-stable.ts
index 2cb28584..a071f59f 100644
--- a/cli/commands/check-stable.ts
+++ b/cli/commands/check-stable.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-import { basename, join } from "node:path";
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync } from "node:fs";
 import { rm } from "node:fs/promises";
 import chalk from "chalk";
 import { execa } from "execa";
@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@ import {
 import { sourcesArgs } from "./sources.js";
 import { toolchain } from "./toolchain/index.js";
 
-const CHECK_STABLE_DIR = ".mops/.check-stable";
+// Per-invocation scratch dir lives under `.mops/`; `mkdtempSync` makes it unique so
+// concurrent `mops` processes don't clobber each other's `old.most`/`new.most`.
+const CHECK_STABLE_PARENT = ".mops";
+const CHECK_STABLE_PREFIX = ".check-stable-";
 
 export interface CheckStableOptions {
   verbose: boolean;
@@ -189,15 +192,17 @@ export async function runStableCheck(
     cliError(`File not found: ${oldFile}`);
   }
 
-  await rm(CHECK_STABLE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
-  mkdirSync(CHECK_STABLE_DIR, { recursive: true });
+  mkdirSync(CHECK_STABLE_PARENT, { recursive: true });
+  const scratchDir = mkdtempSync(
+    join(CHECK_STABLE_PARENT, CHECK_STABLE_PREFIX),
+  );
   try {
     const oldMostPath = isOldMostFile
       ? oldFile
       : await generateStableTypes(
           mocPath,
           oldFile,
-          join(CHECK_STABLE_DIR, "old.most"),
+          join(scratchDir, "old.most"),
           sources,
           globalMocArgs,
           canisterArgs,
@@ -207,7 +212,7 @@ export async function runStableCheck(
     const newMostPath = await generateStableTypes(
       mocPath,
       canisterMain,
-      join(CHECK_STABLE_DIR, "new.most"),
+      join(scratchDir, "new.most"),
       sources,
       globalMocArgs,
       canisterArgs,
@@ -246,7 +251,7 @@ export async function runStableCheck(
       ),
     );
   } finally {
-    await rm(CHECK_STABLE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    await rm(scratchDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   }
 }
 
@@ -259,8 +264,7 @@ async function generateStableTypes(
   canisterArgs: string[],
   options: Partial<CheckStableOptions>,
 ): Promise<string> {
-  const base = basename(outputPath, ".most");
-  const wasmPath = join(CHECK_STABLE_DIR, base + ".wasm");
+  const wasmPath = outputPath.replace(/\.most$/, ".wasm");
   const args = [
     "--stable-types",
     "-o",
diff --git a/cli/helpers/migrations.ts b/cli/helpers/migrations.ts
index 2943ab26..afb78aff 100644
--- a/cli/helpers/migrations.ts
+++ b/cli/helpers/migrations.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import {
   existsSync,
   mkdirSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
   readdirSync,
   symlinkSync,
   writeFileSync,
@@ -193,9 +194,11 @@ export async function prepareMigrationArgs(
     return { migrationArgs, cleanup: async () => {} };
   }
 
-  const tempDir = stagedMigrationsDir(chainDir, canisterName);
-  await rm(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
-  mkdirSync(tempDir, { recursive: true });
+  // Per-invocation staging dir; `mkdtempSync` makes it unique so concurrent `mops`
+  // processes don't clobber each other's symlinks. Cleaned up below in `cleanup()`.
+  const baseDir = stagedMigrationsDir(chainDir, canisterName);
+  mkdirSync(dirname(baseDir), { recursive: true });
+  const tempDir = mkdtempSync(`${baseDir}-`);
   writeFileSync(join(tempDir, ".gitignore"), "*\n");
 
   for (const { file, dir } of included) {
diff --git a/cli/tests/check-stable.test.ts b/cli/tests/check-stable.test.ts
index 9d11f453..38e4203a 100644
--- a/cli/tests/check-stable.test.ts
+++ b/cli/tests/check-stable.test.ts
@@ -86,4 +86,24 @@ describe("check-stable", () => {
     expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
     expect(result.stderr).toMatch(/File not found/);
   });
+
+  // Regression: two concurrent `mops check-stable` runs on the same project used to clobber
+  // each other's `.mops/.check-stable/new.most` and the staged migration symlinks, surfacing
+  // as a misleading `new.most: No such file or directory` or an `EEXIST: symlink` crash.
+  test("concurrent runs do not clobber each other's scratch state", async () => {
+    const cwd = path.join(import.meta.dirname, "check-stable/migrations-chain");
+    const results = await Promise.all(
+      Array.from({ length: 10 }, () => cli(["check-stable"], { cwd })),
+    );
+    for (const result of results) {
+      expect({
+        exitCode: result.exitCode,
+        stderr: result.stderr,
+      }).toEqual({
+        exitCode: 0,
+        stderr: "",
+      });
+      expect(result.stdout).toMatch(/Stable compatibility check passed/);
+    }
+  }, 60_000);
 });
diff --git a/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/deployed.most b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/deployed.most
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..634f4f96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/deployed.most
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+// Version: 4.0.0
+{
+  "20250101_000000_Init" : {} -> {a : Nat; b : Text};
+  "20250201_000000_AddField" : (old : {a : Nat; b : Text}) -> {a : Nat; b : Text; c : Bool};
+  "20250301_000000_AddD" : (old : {a : Nat; b : Text; c : Bool}) -> {a : Nat; b : Text; c : Bool; d : Int};
+  "20250401_000000_AddE" : (old : {a : Nat; b : Text; c : Bool; d : Int}) -> {a : Nat; b : Text; c : Bool; d : Int; e : Text}
+}
+actor  {
+  stable a : Nat;
+  stable b : Text;
+  stable c : Bool;
+  stable d : Int;
+  stable e : Text
+};
diff --git a/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250101_000000_Init.mo b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250101_000000_Init.mo
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d706b262
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250101_000000_Init.mo
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+module {
+  public func migration(_ : {}) : { a : Nat; b : Text } {
+    {
+      a = 42;
+      b = "hello";
+    };
+  };
+};
diff --git a/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250201_000000_AddField.mo b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250201_000000_AddField.mo
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..432414c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250201_000000_AddField.mo
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+module {
+  public func migration(old : { a : Nat; b : Text }) : {
+    a : Nat;
+    b : Text;
+    c : Bool;
+  } {
+    { old with c = true };
+  };
+};
diff --git a/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250301_000000_AddD.mo b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250301_000000_AddD.mo
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ef38ea1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250301_000000_AddD.mo
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+module {
+  public func migration(old : { a : Nat; b : Text; c : Bool }) : {
+    a : Nat;
+    b : Text;
+    c : Bool;
+    d : Int;
+  } {
+    { old with d = 0 };
+  };
+};
diff --git a/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250401_000000_AddE.mo b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250401_000000_AddE.mo
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..068c59a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/migrations/20250401_000000_AddE.mo
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+module {
+  public func migration(old : { a : Nat; b : Text; c : Bool; d : Int }) : {
+    a : Nat;
+    b : Text;
+    c : Bool;
+    d : Int;
+    e : Text;
+  } {
+    { old with e = "" };
+  };
+};
diff --git a/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/mops.toml b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/mops.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5c43b5ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/mops.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+[toolchain]
+moc = "1.5.0"
+
+[moc]
+args = ["--default-persistent-actors"]
+
+[canisters.backend]
+main = "src/main.mo"
+
+[canisters.backend.migrations]
+chain = "migrations"
+check-limit = 3
+
+[canisters.backend.check-stable]
+path = "deployed.most"
diff --git a/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/src/main.mo b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/src/main.mo
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..53c1937f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/tests/check-stable/migrations-chain/src/main.mo
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import Prim "mo:prim";
+
+actor {
+  let a : Nat;
+  let b : Text;
+  let c : Bool;
+  let d : Int;
+  let e : Text;
+
+  public func check() : async () {
+    Prim.debugPrint(debug_show { a; b; c; d; e });
+  };
+};
diff --git a/cli/tests/helpers.ts b/cli/tests/helpers.ts
index 17e577ae..6385ace1 100644
--- a/cli/tests/helpers.ts
+++ b/cli/tests/helpers.ts
@@ -37,7 +37,11 @@ export const normalizePaths = (text: string): string => {
       .replace(/\/[^\s"]+\/\.cache\/mops/g, "<CACHE>")
       .replace(/\/[^\s"]+\/Library\/Caches\/mops/g, "<CACHE>")
       .replace(/\/[^\s"[\]]+\/moc(?:-wrapper)?(?=\s|$)/g, "moc-wrapper")
-      .replace(/\/[^\s"[\]]+\.motoko\/bin\/moc/g, "moc-wrapper"),
+      .replace(/\/[^\s"[\]]+\.motoko\/bin\/moc/g, "moc-wrapper")
+      // Per-invocation scratch / staging dirs use mkdtemp; redact the random suffix
+      // (Node's exact suffix format isn't a stable contract) so snapshots stay stable.
+      .replace(/\.mops\/\.check-stable-\w+/g, ".mops/.check-stable")
+      .replace(/(\.migrations-[\w.-]+?)-\w+(?=[/\s"]|$)/g, "$1"),
   );
 };