diff --git a/tines/Cargo.toml b/tines/Cargo.toml
index ed10ce4e..762fcd9d 100644
--- a/tines/Cargo.toml
+++ b/tines/Cargo.toml
@@ -18,8 +18,4 @@ serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = "1"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-tines-core = { path = "../tines-core", version = "0.3.0" }
-tines-store = { path = "../tines-store", version = "0.3.0" }
 heapless = "0.8"
-serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
-serde_json = "1"
diff --git a/tines/src/ipc.rs b/tines/src/ipc.rs
index 499ec64c..940e55a0 100644
--- a/tines/src/ipc.rs
+++ b/tines/src/ipc.rs
@@ -199,18 +199,35 @@ where
 
     for stream in listener.incoming() {
         let mut stream = stream?;
-        // Serve this connection request-by-request until the peer disconnects
-        // or sends a malformed frame, then move on to the next connection.
-        while let Ok(req) = read_request(&mut stream) {
-            let now = now_ms();
-            let resp = {
-                let mut guard = node.lock().unwrap();
-                handle(&mut guard, req, now)
-            };
-            // A client that vanished mid-connection shouldn't take down the
-            // whole service; just drop this one socket.
-            if write_response(&mut stream, &resp).is_err() {
-                break;
+        // Serve this connection request-by-request until the peer cleanly
+        // disconnects, then move on to the next connection.
+        loop {
+            match read_request(&mut stream) {
+                Ok(req) => {
+                    let now = now_ms();
+                    let resp = {
+                        // Recover from a poisoned lock so one panicking
+                        // handler can't take down the daemon.
+                        let mut guard =
+                            node.lock().unwrap_or_else(|poisoned| poisoned.into_inner());
+                        handle(&mut guard, req, now)
+                    };
+                    if write_response(&mut stream, &resp).is_err() {
+                        // A client that vanished mid-connection shouldn't
+                        // take down the whole service; just drop this socket.
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+                // A clean disconnect (peer closed the socket) ends the loop.
+                Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::UnexpectedEof => break,
+                // A malformed frame isn't a disconnect: tell the client and
+                // keep serving this connection rather than dropping it. The
+                // frame can't be identified, so the error is generic.
+                Err(_) => {
+                    if write_response(&mut stream, &error("malformed request")).is_err() {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/tines/tests/ipc.rs b/tines/tests/ipc.rs
index b53e51a7..42987c94 100644
--- a/tines/tests/ipc.rs
+++ b/tines/tests/ipc.rs
@@ -313,3 +313,37 @@ fn confidence_event_direct_probe() {
     assert_eq!(evs[0].id, x);
     assert_eq!(evs[0].peer, [7; 16]);
 }
+
+/// A malformed JSON frame must yield an `Error` response and leave the
+/// connection alive, so a following valid request is still served.
+#[test]
+fn malformed_frame_gets_error_and_connection_survives() {
+    let dir = unique_dir("malformed");
+    let socket = dir.join("ipc.sock");
+    let node = build_node([3; 16], &dir);
+    let serve_path = socket.clone();
+    let _handle = thread::spawn(move || serve(node, serve_path).unwrap());
+    let mut stream = connect(&socket);
+
+    // A length-prefixed frame whose body is not valid JSON.
+    let body = b"{ this is not valid json";
+    let len = (body.len() as u32).to_le_bytes();
+    stream.write_all(&len).unwrap();
+    stream.write_all(body).unwrap();
+    stream.flush().unwrap();
+
+    // The server must reply with an Error, not drop the socket.
+    match read_response(&mut stream) {
+        Response::Error { .. } => {}
+        other => panic!("expected Error for malformed frame, got {other:?}"),
+    }
+
+    // The connection is still alive: a valid request now succeeds.
+    rpc(&mut stream, &Request::Status);
+    match read_response(&mut stream) {
+        Response::Status { .. } => {}
+        other => panic!("expected Status after a malformed frame, got {other:?}"),
+    }
+
+    let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&socket);
+}