diff --git a/packages/core/src/governance/recursive-runtime.test.ts b/packages/core/src/governance/recursive-runtime.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..93ce51f8be9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/governance/recursive-runtime.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { RecursiveRuntime } from './recursive-runtime.js';
+import { BanachCurationOperator } from './banach-curation.js';
+import { HumanSeed } from './persistent-root-kernel.js';
+import * as crypto from 'node:crypto';
+
+describe('RecursiveRuntime', () => {
+  let runtime: RecursiveRuntime;
+  let mockSeed: HumanSeed;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    runtime = new RecursiveRuntime();
+    mockSeed = {
+      api_key: 'test_api_key',
+      genesis_hash: 'test_genesis_hash',
+    };
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it('should return a valid VerifiedGene when a contractive path is found', () => {
+    // 100 * (1 / 1.618033988749895) is approx 61.8
+    // So target is 61.8, we return 60 to satisfy the condition
+    const calculateMetricSpy = vi.spyOn(BanachCurationOperator.prototype, 'calculateMetric')
+      .mockReturnValueOnce(100) // First call: original failedState delta
+      .mockReturnValueOnce(60); // Second call: recomputed content delta
+
+    const applySpy = vi.spyOn(BanachCurationOperator.prototype, 'apply')
+      .mockReturnValue('contracted');
+
+    const result = runtime.recompute('failed_state_content', mockSeed);
+
+    expect(calculateMetricSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(calculateMetricSpy).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, 'failed_state_content');
+    expect(calculateMetricSpy).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, 'contracted');
+    expect(applySpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(applySpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith('failed_state_content');
+
+    const expectedSignature = crypto
+      .createHash('sha256')
+      .update('contracted' + mockSeed.genesis_hash + 'REACTION')
+      .digest('hex');
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      content: 'contracted',
+      signature: expectedSignature,
+      genesis_hash: mockSeed.genesis_hash,
+      raw_prompt: 'failed_state_content',
+      human_seed: mockSeed,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('should return null when a contractive path is not found', () => {
+    // 100 * (1 / 1.618033988749895) is approx 61.8
+    // So target is 61.8, we return 80 to fail the condition
+    const calculateMetricSpy = vi.spyOn(BanachCurationOperator.prototype, 'calculateMetric')
+      .mockReturnValueOnce(100) // First call: original failedState delta
+      .mockReturnValueOnce(80); // Second call: recomputed content delta
+
+    const applySpy = vi.spyOn(BanachCurationOperator.prototype, 'apply')
+      .mockReturnValue('contracted');
+
+    const result = runtime.recompute('failed_state_content', mockSeed);
+
+    expect(calculateMetricSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(calculateMetricSpy).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, 'failed_state_content');
+    expect(calculateMetricSpy).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, 'contracted');
+    expect(applySpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(applySpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith('failed_state_content');
+
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/utils/errors.test.ts b/packages/core/src/utils/errors.test.ts
index ec42a3f954f..67362d48cc6 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/utils/errors.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/utils/errors.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import {
   BadRequestError,
   UnauthorizedError,
   ForbiddenError,
-} from './errors';
+} from './errors.js';
 
 describe('toFriendlyError', () => {
   it('should return the original error if it is not an object', () => {