diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index 98a3e578..922ee5a2 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -1237,9 +1237,12 @@ func (c *Config) ValidatePathInSandbox(path string) error {
 
 	// The skills carve-out is gated on agent.skills.enabled: when skills are off
 	// (the default) the directory is not allowed and falls through to the
-	// .infer/ protected-path check below. The tmp/plans carve-out stays unconditional.
+	// .infer/ protected-path check below. The tmp/plans carve-out stays
+	// unconditional and checks both the project-relative ConfigDirName and the
+	// resolved config dir (GetConfigDir) so plans written to the userspace
+	// ~/.infer/plans stay readable when the config was loaded from there.
 	carveOut := (c.Agent.Skills.Enabled && isWithinSkillsDir(absPath)) ||
-		isWithinConfigSubdir(absPath, "tmp", "plans") ||
+		c.isWithinConfigSubdir(absPath, "tmp", "plans") ||
 		isWithinMemoryDir(absPath, c.Memory)
 
 	if err := c.checkProtectedPaths(path, carveOut); err != nil {
@@ -1311,17 +1314,26 @@ func isWithinSkillsDir(absPath string) bool {
 }
 
 // isWithinConfigSubdir reports whether absPath lives inside one of the named
-// subdirectories of the project config dir (./.infer/<name>). These are
-// operational areas - tmp scratch, persisted plans - that stay reachable even
-// though the rest of .infer/ is protected as a whole.
-func isWithinConfigSubdir(absPath string, names ...string) bool {
+// subdirectories of the config dir. It checks both the project-relative
+// ConfigDirName (./.infer/<name>) and the resolved config dir
+// (GetConfigDir()/<name>) so that operational areas - tmp scratch, persisted
+// plans - stay reachable even when the config was loaded from the userspace
+// location (~/.infer). This keeps the rest of .infer/ protected as a whole.
+func (c *Config) isWithinConfigSubdir(absPath string, names ...string) bool {
+	configDirs := []string{ConfigDirName}
+	if resolved := c.GetConfigDir(); resolved != "" && resolved != ConfigDirName {
+		configDirs = append(configDirs, resolved)
+	}
+
 	for _, name := range names {
-		dir, err := filepath.Abs(filepath.Join(ConfigDirName, name))
-		if err != nil {
-			continue
-		}
-		if absPath == dir || strings.HasPrefix(absPath, dir+string(filepath.Separator)) {
-			return true
+		for _, base := range configDirs {
+			dir, err := filepath.Abs(filepath.Join(base, name))
+			if err != nil {
+				continue
+			}
+			if absPath == dir || strings.HasPrefix(absPath, dir+string(filepath.Separator)) {
+				return true
+			}
 		}
 	}
 	return false
diff --git a/config/config_test.go b/config/config_test.go
index fa189cf4..403ec8ef 100644
--- a/config/config_test.go
+++ b/config/config_test.go
@@ -1048,3 +1048,45 @@ func TestValidatePathInSandbox_ConfigDir(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// TestValidatePathInSandbox_ConfigDirUserspace locks in that the tmp/plans
+// carve-out also covers the resolved userspace config dir (~/.infer). When the
+// config is loaded from the userspace location, GetConfigDir() returns an
+// absolute home path and plans are written there - the sandbox must still
+// allow the agent to read them back.
+func TestValidatePathInSandbox_ConfigDirUserspace(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := DefaultConfig()
+
+	homeDir, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Skipf("cannot determine home dir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	userspaceConfigDir := filepath.Join(homeDir, ConfigDirName)
+	cfg.SetConfigDir(userspaceConfigDir)
+
+	allowed := []string{
+		filepath.Join(userspaceConfigDir, "tmp", "scratch.txt"),
+		filepath.Join(userspaceConfigDir, "plans", "2026-06-01-do-thing.md"),
+	}
+	for _, p := range allowed {
+		t.Run("allow "+p, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if err := cfg.ValidatePathInSandbox(p); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("expected %s allowed, got %v", p, err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+
+	denied := []string{
+		filepath.Join(userspaceConfigDir, "config.yaml"),
+		filepath.Join(userspaceConfigDir, "agents.yaml"),
+		filepath.Join(userspaceConfigDir, "tmp", "leaked.env"),
+	}
+	for _, p := range denied {
+		t.Run("deny "+p, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if err := cfg.ValidatePathInSandbox(p); err == nil {
+				t.Fatalf("expected %s to be denied", p)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}