diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/setup-commands.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/setup-commands.ts
index 1688724d..5176ab8e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/setup-commands.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/setup-commands.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { type Command, InvalidArgumentError, Option } from '@commander-js/extra-typings';
+import { reservedKtxIngestConnectionIdMessage } from '@ktx/context/project';
 import type { KtxCliCommandContext } from '../cli-program.js';
 import { resolveCommandProjectDir } from '../cli-program.js';
 import type { KtxSetupDatabaseDriver } from '../setup-databases.js';
@@ -268,6 +269,10 @@ export function registerSetupCommands(program: Command, context: KtxCliCommandCo
       if (!/^[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9_-]*$/.test(value)) {
         throw new InvalidArgumentError(`Unsafe connection id: ${value}`);
       }
+      const reservedMessage = reservedKtxIngestConnectionIdMessage(value);
+      if (reservedMessage) {
+        throw new InvalidArgumentError(reservedMessage);
+      }
       return value;
     })
     .option('--database-url <url>', 'URL, env:NAME, or file:/path for one new URL-style database connection')
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/index.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/index.test.ts
index d858442a..1a1c613e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/index.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/index.test.ts
@@ -1175,6 +1175,18 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it('rejects reserved setup database connection ids before dispatch', async () => {
+    const testIo = makeIo();
+    const setup = vi.fn(async () => 0);
+
+    await expect(
+      runKtxCli(['setup', '--new-database-connection-id', 'status', '--no-input'], testIo.io, { setup }),
+    ).resolves.toBe(1);
+
+    expect(setup).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(testIo.stderr()).toContain('"status" is reserved for ktx ingest status; choose a different connection id.');
+  });
+
   it('dispatches setup source flags', async () => {
     const setup = vi.fn(async () => 0);
     const testIo = makeIo();
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.test.ts
index 817c37d5..734eea63 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.test.ts
@@ -1717,6 +1717,26 @@ describe('setup databases step', () => {
     expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Missing database connection id');
   });
 
+  it('rejects reserved non-interactive database connection ids', async () => {
+    const io = makeIo();
+
+    const result = await runKtxSetupDatabasesStep(
+      {
+        projectDir: tempDir,
+        inputMode: 'disabled',
+        databaseDrivers: ['postgres'],
+        databaseConnectionId: 'replay',
+        databaseUrl: 'env:DATABASE_URL',
+        databaseSchemas: [],
+        skipDatabases: false,
+      },
+      io.io,
+    );
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe('failed');
+    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('"replay" is reserved for ktx ingest replay; choose a different connection id.');
+  });
+
   it('leaves setup incomplete when primary sources are skipped', async () => {
     const io = makeIo();
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.ts
index 7f353b01..3675bee7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { promisify } from 'node:util';
 import type { HistoricSqlDialect } from '@ktx/context/ingest';
 import {
+  assertKtxConnectionIdIsNotReserved,
   type KtxProjectConnectionConfig,
   loadKtxProject,
   markKtxSetupStateStepComplete,
@@ -227,6 +228,13 @@ function unique(values: string[]): string[] {
   return [...new Set(values.filter((value) => value.trim().length > 0))];
 }
 
+function assertSafeDatabaseConnectionId(connectionId: string): void {
+  if (!/^[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9_-]*$/.test(connectionId)) {
+    throw new Error(`Unsafe connection id: ${connectionId}`);
+  }
+  assertKtxConnectionIdIsNotReserved(connectionId);
+}
+
 function historicSqlConfigRecord(connection: KtxProjectConnectionConfig | undefined): Record<string, unknown> | null {
   const historicSql = connection?.historicSql;
   return historicSql && typeof historicSql === 'object' && !Array.isArray(historicSql)
@@ -1665,10 +1673,12 @@ async function chooseConnectionIdForDriver(input: {
   prompts: KtxSetupDatabasesPromptAdapter;
 }): Promise<{ kind: 'existing' | 'new'; connectionId: string } | 'back' | 'missing-input'> {
   if (input.args.databaseConnectionId) {
+    assertSafeDatabaseConnectionId(input.args.databaseConnectionId);
     return { kind: 'new', connectionId: input.args.databaseConnectionId };
   }
   if (input.args.inputMode === 'disabled') {
     if (!input.args.databaseConnectionId) return 'missing-input';
+    assertSafeDatabaseConnectionId(input.args.databaseConnectionId);
     return { kind: 'new', connectionId: input.args.databaseConnectionId };
   }
 
@@ -1684,6 +1694,7 @@ async function chooseConnectionIdForDriver(input: {
     });
     if (entered === undefined) return 'back';
     const connectionId = entered.trim() || defaultId;
+    assertSafeDatabaseConnectionId(connectionId);
     return connectionId ? { kind: 'new', connectionId } : 'missing-input';
   }
 
@@ -1708,6 +1719,7 @@ async function chooseConnectionIdForDriver(input: {
     });
     if (entered === undefined) continue;
     const connectionId = entered.trim() || defaultId;
+    assertSafeDatabaseConnectionId(connectionId);
     return connectionId ? { kind: 'new', connectionId } : 'missing-input';
   }
 }
@@ -1780,12 +1792,18 @@ export async function runKtxSetupDatabasesStep(
 
     for (const driver of drivers) {
       const project = await loadKtxProject({ projectDir: args.projectDir });
-      const connectionChoice = await chooseConnectionIdForDriver({
-        driver,
-        connections: project.config.connections,
-        args,
-        prompts,
-      });
+      let connectionChoice: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof chooseConnectionIdForDriver>>;
+      try {
+        connectionChoice = await chooseConnectionIdForDriver({
+          driver,
+          connections: project.config.connections,
+          args,
+          prompts,
+        });
+      } catch (error) {
+        io.stderr.write(`${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}\n`);
+        return { status: 'failed', projectDir: args.projectDir };
+      }
       if (connectionChoice === 'back') {
         if (!canReturnToDriverSelection) return { status: 'back', projectDir: args.projectDir };
         returnToDriverSelection = true;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.test.ts
index 2f622da5..e68a3c9c 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.test.ts
@@ -254,6 +254,31 @@ describe('setup sources step', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it('rejects reserved interactive source connection ids', async () => {
+    await addPrimarySource();
+    const io = makeIo();
+
+    const result = await runKtxSetupSourcesStep(
+      {
+        projectDir,
+        inputMode: 'auto',
+        runInitialSourceIngest: false,
+        skipSources: false,
+      },
+      io.io,
+      {
+        prompts: prompts({
+          multiselect: [['notion']],
+          text: ['status', 'env:NOTION_TOKEN'],
+          select: ['env', 'all_accessible'],
+        }),
+      },
+    );
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe('failed');
+    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('"status" is reserved for ktx ingest status; choose a different connection id.');
+  });
+
   it('uses selected Notion roots when root page ids are provided even if crawl mode says all accessible', async () => {
     await addPrimarySource();
     const validateNotion = vi.fn(async () => ({ ok: true as const, detail: 'roots=1' }));
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.ts
index 991f56cc..4750c559 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import {
   testRepoConnection,
 } from '@ktx/context/ingest';
 import {
+  assertKtxConnectionIdIsNotReserved,
   type KtxProjectConfig,
   type KtxProjectConnectionConfig,
   loadKtxProject,
@@ -201,6 +202,7 @@ function assertSafeConnectionId(connectionId: string): void {
   if (!/^[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9_-]*$/.test(connectionId)) {
     throw new Error(`Unsafe connection id: ${connectionId}`);
   }
+  assertKtxConnectionIdIsNotReserved(connectionId);
 }
 
 function credentialRef(value: string | undefined, label: string): string {
diff --git a/packages/context/src/project/config.test.ts b/packages/context/src/project/config.test.ts
index b5c22a82..137bd7b8 100644
--- a/packages/context/src/project/config.test.ts
+++ b/packages/context/src/project/config.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,17 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { buildDefaultKtxProjectConfig, parseKtxProjectConfig, serializeKtxProjectConfig } from './config.js';
 
 describe('KTX project config', () => {
+  it.each(['status', 'replay', 'run', 'watch'])('rejects reserved ingest connection id "%s"', (connectionId) => {
+    expect(() =>
+      parseKtxProjectConfig(`
+project: reserved-test
+connections:
+  ${connectionId}:
+    driver: postgres
+`),
+    ).toThrow(`"${connectionId}" is reserved for ktx ingest ${connectionId}`);
+  });
+
   it('builds the default standalone project config', () => {
     expect(buildDefaultKtxProjectConfig('warehouse')).toEqual({
       project: 'warehouse',
diff --git a/packages/context/src/project/config.ts b/packages/context/src/project/config.ts
index 2dc3c2a4..e655ca02 100644
--- a/packages/context/src/project/config.ts
+++ b/packages/context/src/project/config.ts
@@ -112,6 +112,25 @@ function isRecord(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown> {
   return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && !Array.isArray(value);
 }
 
+const RESERVED_INGEST_CONNECTION_IDS = new Map([
+  ['status', 'ktx ingest status'],
+  ['replay', 'ktx ingest replay'],
+  ['run', 'ktx ingest run'],
+  ['watch', 'ktx ingest watch'],
+]);
+
+export function reservedKtxIngestConnectionIdMessage(connectionId: string): string | null {
+  const command = RESERVED_INGEST_CONNECTION_IDS.get(connectionId);
+  return command ? `"${connectionId}" is reserved for ${command}; choose a different connection id.` : null;
+}
+
+export function assertKtxConnectionIdIsNotReserved(connectionId: string): void {
+  const message = reservedKtxIngestConnectionIdMessage(connectionId);
+  if (message) {
+    throw new Error(message);
+  }
+}
+
 function stringArray(value: unknown, fallback: string[]): string[] {
   if (!Array.isArray(value)) {
     return fallback;
@@ -485,6 +504,12 @@ export function parseKtxProjectConfig(raw: string): KtxProjectConfig {
     ...(isRecord(scanEnrichment.embeddings) ? { embeddings: scanEmbeddings } : {}),
   };
   const parsedScanRelationships = parseScanRelationshipConfig(scanRelationships, defaults.scan.relationships);
+  const parsedConnections = isRecord(parsed.connections)
+    ? (parsed.connections as Record<string, KtxProjectConnectionConfig>)
+    : defaults.connections;
+  for (const connectionId of Object.keys(parsedConnections)) {
+    assertKtxConnectionIdIsNotReserved(connectionId);
+  }
 
   return {
     project: project.trim(),
@@ -495,9 +520,7 @@ export function parseKtxProjectConfig(raw: string): KtxProjectConfig {
           },
         }
       : {}),
-    connections: isRecord(parsed.connections)
-      ? (parsed.connections as Record<string, KtxProjectConnectionConfig>)
-      : defaults.connections,
+    connections: parsedConnections,
     storage: {
       state: storage.state === 'sqlite' ? 'sqlite' : defaults.storage.state,
       search: storage.search === 'sqlite-fts5' ? 'sqlite-fts5' : defaults.storage.search,
diff --git a/packages/context/src/project/index.ts b/packages/context/src/project/index.ts
index 8ea92bf6..3680f6c3 100644
--- a/packages/context/src/project/index.ts
+++ b/packages/context/src/project/index.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,13 @@ export type {
   KtxSearchBackend,
   KtxStorageState,
 } from './config.js';
-export { buildDefaultKtxProjectConfig, parseKtxProjectConfig, serializeKtxProjectConfig } from './config.js';
+export {
+  assertKtxConnectionIdIsNotReserved,
+  buildDefaultKtxProjectConfig,
+  parseKtxProjectConfig,
+  reservedKtxIngestConnectionIdMessage,
+  serializeKtxProjectConfig,
+} from './config.js';
 export type { LocalGitFileStoreDeps } from './local-git-file-store.js';
 export { LocalGitFileStore } from './local-git-file-store.js';
 export { ktxLocalStateDbPath } from './local-state-db.js';