diff --git a/hubs/cli-git.md b/hubs/cli-git.md
index 4985b2f..86839f0 100644
--- a/hubs/cli-git.md
+++ b/hubs/cli-git.md
@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@
 summary: Best-effort git queries for scoping and rename-following — advisory only, the gate never depends on them.
 anchors:
   - claim: >
-      changed_files returns the repo-relative paths changed between the merge base of base..HEAD
-      and the working tree, used to diff-scope the check. A missing merge base (shallow clone)
-      falls back to diffing the ref directly; if git can't answer at all it returns None.
+      changed_files returns the workspace-root-relative paths changed between the merge base of
+      base..HEAD and the working tree (via git diff --relative), used to diff-scope the check —
+      so the set intersects workspace-relative anchors even when the workspace is a repo
+      subdirectory. A missing merge base (shallow clone) falls back to diffing the ref directly;
+      if git can't answer at all it returns None.
     at: surf-cli/src/git.rs > changed_files
-    hash: 9f422d548239
+    hash: 454e65cc8aa3
   - claim: >
       show returns the contents of a file at a git ref (git show <base>:<path>), used to recover
       the previous source for advisory old_code/magnitude. None when unavailable — the verdict is
diff --git a/surf-cli/src/check.rs b/surf-cli/src/check.rs
index 8ca0bdb..99cb46d 100644
--- a/surf-cli/src/check.rs
+++ b/surf-cli/src/check.rs
@@ -733,6 +733,60 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(unmatched.is_empty(), "glob matched an anchored file");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn base_scope_works_when_workspace_is_a_repo_subdir() {
+        // The workspace (surf.toml) sits in `proj/`, a subdirectory of the git repo. A real
+        // logic drift in an anchored file must still fail `check --base`. Regression for the
+        // silent bypass where `git diff` emitted repo-root-relative paths (`proj/src/m.rs`)
+        // that never matched the workspace-relative anchor (`src/m.rs`), scoping the gate to
+        // zero claims and exiting clean.
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let repo = tmp.path();
+        let proj = repo.join("proj");
+
+        let v1 = "pub fn add(a: i64, b: i64) -> i64 { a + b }\n";
+        let h = stored_hash(v1, "src/m.rs > add");
+        write(&proj, "surf.toml", "");
+        write(&proj, "src/m.rs", v1);
+        write(
+            &proj,
+            "hubs/a.md",
+            &format!("---\nsummary: x\nanchors:\n  - claim: add sums\n    at: src/m.rs > add\n    hash: {h}\n---\n"),
+        );
+
+        // Initialize the repo at the parent, not the workspace.
+        git(repo, &["init", "-q"]);
+        git(
+            repo,
+            &["-c", "user.email=t@t", "-c", "user.name=t", "add", "."],
+        );
+        git(
+            repo,
+            &[
+                "-c",
+                "user.email=t@t",
+                "-c",
+                "user.name=t",
+                "commit",
+                "-q",
+                "-m",
+                "v1",
+            ],
+        );
+
+        // Diverge the anchored span in the working tree.
+        write(
+            &proj,
+            "src/m.rs",
+            "pub fn add(a: i64, b: i64) -> i64 { a - b }\n",
+        );
+
+        let ws = ws_at(proj.clone());
+        let scoped = check_workspace(&ws, Some("HEAD"), &[]).unwrap().0;
+        assert_eq!(scoped.len(), 1, "subdir --base must still catch the drift");
+        assert_eq!(scoped[0].kind, DivergenceKind::Changed);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn no_flags_checks_everything() {
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
diff --git a/surf-cli/src/git.rs b/surf-cli/src/git.rs
index 7f5c4c0..9ec73cf 100644
--- a/surf-cli/src/git.rs
+++ b/surf-cli/src/git.rs
@@ -8,8 +8,13 @@ use std::path::Path;
 use std::process::Command;
 
 /// Files changed between the merge base of `base`..HEAD and the working tree. Paths are
-/// repo-root-relative; they match `Anchor.file` (workspace-root-relative) when the workspace
-/// root is the repo root, the normal case. `None` if git can't answer.
+/// emitted relative to `root` (the workspace root) via `--relative`, so they match
+/// `Anchor.file` (also workspace-root-relative) even when the workspace is a *subdirectory*
+/// of the git repo — without `--relative`, `git diff` reports repo-root-relative paths
+/// (e.g. `proj/src/x.rs`) that never intersect a workspace-relative anchor (`src/x.rs`),
+/// silently scoping the `--base` gate to zero claims and passing real drift (exit 0).
+/// `--relative` also drops changes outside the workspace, which can never be anchored anyway.
+/// `None` if git can't answer.
 pub fn changed_files(root: &Path, base: &str) -> Option<HashSet<String>> {
     let merge_base = Command::new("git")
         .current_dir(root)
@@ -23,7 +28,7 @@ pub fn changed_files(root: &Path, base: &str) -> Option<HashSet<String>> {
 
     let output = Command::new("git")
         .current_dir(root)
-        .args(["diff", "--name-only", &merge_base])
+        .args(["diff", "--name-only", "--relative", &merge_base])
         .output()
         .ok()?;
     output.status.success().then(|| {