diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/resource-loader.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/resource-loader.ts
index 13e5fdd..7466e69 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/resource-loader.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/resource-loader.ts
@@ -125,7 +125,6 @@ const companionContextFilenames = [
   "SOUL.md",
   "USER.md",
   "TOOLS.md",
-  "HEARTBEAT.md",
   "MEMORY.md",
   "BOOTSTRAP.md",
 ];
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/system-prompt.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/system-prompt.ts
index 4098bbe..973f93a 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/system-prompt.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/system-prompt.ts
@@ -77,10 +77,6 @@ function buildProjectContextSection(
     section +=
       "\nIf TOOLS.md is present, treat it as the source of truth for the current sandbox filesystem, app locations, and environment-specific workflow details.\n";
   }
-  if (hasContextFile("HEARTBEAT.md")) {
-    section +=
-      "\nIf HEARTBEAT.md is present, honor it as recurring operational guidance for the agent.\n";
-  }
   if (hasContextFile("BOOTSTRAP.md")) {
     section +=
       "\nIf BOOTSTRAP.md is present, treat it as an actionable onboarding task list and execute it before drifting into unrelated work.\n";