diff --git a/server/lib/22-claude-config.sh b/server/lib/22-claude-config.sh
index 19b1280..0c35e00 100755
--- a/server/lib/22-claude-config.sh
+++ b/server/lib/22-claude-config.sh
@@ -203,6 +203,14 @@ else
   info "linked $CHOOK_LINK -> $CHOOK_DST"
 fi
 
+# A project dropped from the payload loses its files to rsync --delete but can
+# keep its now-empty directories, and an empty entry is indistinguishable from an
+# adopted project to anything reading this directory. Pruned here so that
+# un-adopting a project is complete rather than half-done. -delete implies
+# -depth, so nested empties go bottom-up in one pass.
+[[ $PRINT_ONLY -eq 1 ]] || \
+  find "$DST/project-config" -mindepth 1 -type d -empty -delete 2>/dev/null
+
 # ---- project config links ---------------------------------------------------
 # Each delivered project-config/<name> is reached from ~/workspace/<name>
 # through a relative symlink. On the laptop laptop/adopt-project-config.sh
diff --git a/verify.sh b/verify.sh
index 465ca7a..61747a5 100755
--- a/verify.sh
+++ b/verify.sh
@@ -158,6 +158,11 @@ check "chook config resolves to the delivered file" "$HOME/.claude/chook.toml" \
 echo "=== project config ==="
 for cfg in "$HOME"/.claude/project-config/*/; do
   [[ -d "$cfg" ]] || continue          # no match: the glob stays literal
+  # A directory holding no files is not an adopted project. rsync --delete
+  # removes the files of an entry dropped from the payload but can leave its
+  # directories behind, and asserting a link for one of those reports drift for
+  # a project that was deliberately un-adopted.
+  [[ -n "$(find "$cfg" -type f -print -quit 2>/dev/null)" ]] || continue
   pname=$(basename "$cfg")
   proj="$HOME/workspace/$pname"
   [[ -d "$proj" ]] || continue