diff --git a/bin/crc b/bin/crc
index 3eaec1c..457740a 100755
--- a/bin/crc
+++ b/bin/crc
@@ -20,6 +20,14 @@
 #   crc -n ...                   # open a NEW iTerm window instead of current tab
 #   crc -h | --help
 #
+# Options:
+#   -s, --session <name>   override the derived tmux session name (so a boot
+#                          unit and an interactive attach share ONE session)
+#   --ensure               start the session detached if not already running,
+#                          then exit (no attach) — for systemd / scripting
+#   --respawn              run `claude rc` in a restart loop inside the session,
+#                          so a crash is recovered without systemd intervention
+#
 # host may be any ssh target (alias, user@host, IP), or local/./localhost to run
 # on this machine. When <dir> is omitted, $PWD is mirrored to the same path
 # under the remote's $HOME (like rclaude); paths outside $HOME fall back to ~.
@@ -32,8 +40,11 @@ set -eu
 host=${CRC_HOST:-apricot.lan}
 new_window=0
 dry_run=0
+session_override=''
+ensure=0
+respawn=0
 
-usage() { sed -n '2,29p' "$0" | sed 's/^# \{0,1\}//'; }
+usage() { sed -n '2,37p' "$0" | sed 's/^# \{0,1\}//'; }
 
 # --- arg parse -------------------------------------------------------------
 positional=''         # collected host/dir (max 2), space-free tokens unsafe so
@@ -48,6 +59,11 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
         -h|--help) usage; exit 0 ;;
         -n|--new-window) new_window=1; shift ;;
         --dry-run) dry_run=1; shift ;;
+        -s|--session)
+            [ $# -ge 2 ] || { echo "crc: $1 needs a value" >&2; exit 2; }
+            session_override=$2; shift 2 ;;
+        --ensure) ensure=1; shift ;;
+        --respawn) respawn=1; shift ;;
         --) shift; rc_args=$*; break ;;
         -*) echo "crc: unknown option: $1" >&2; exit 2 ;;
         *)
@@ -63,8 +79,9 @@ done
 if [ "$new_window" -eq 1 ]; then
     cmd="crc"
     [ $have_host -eq 1 ] && cmd="$cmd $(printf %q "$host")"
-    [ $dir_set -eq 1 ]   && cmd="$cmd $(printf %q "$dir")"
-    [ -n "$rc_args" ]    && cmd="$cmd -- $rc_args"
+    [ $dir_set -eq 1 ]        && cmd="$cmd $(printf %q "$dir")"
+    [ -n "$session_override" ] && cmd="$cmd --session $(printf %q "$session_override")"
+    [ -n "$rc_args" ]         && cmd="$cmd -- $rc_args"
     escaped=$(printf %s "$cmd" | sed -e 's/\\/\\\\/g' -e 's/"/\\"/g')
     osascript <<OSA
 tell application "iTerm"
@@ -107,14 +124,10 @@ REL=$(printf %q "$rel")
 ABS=$(printf %q "$abs")
 RC_ARGS=$(printf %q "$rc_args")
 SESS=$(printf %q "$session")
-if [ -n "\$ABS" ]; then
-    case "\$ABS" in
-        "~") DIR=\$HOME ;;
-        "~/"*) DIR="\$HOME/\${ABS#~/}" ;;
-        *) DIR=\$ABS ;;
-    esac
-else
-    DIR="\$HOME\${REL:+/\$REL}"
+if [ "\$ABS" = "~" ]; then DIR=\$HOME
+elif [ -n "\$ABS" ] && [ "\${ABS#~/}" != "\$ABS" ]; then DIR="\$HOME/\${ABS#~/}"
+elif [ -n "\$ABS" ]; then DIR=\$ABS
+else DIR="\$HOME\${REL:+/\$REL}"
 fi
 if ! cd "\$DIR" 2>/dev/null; then
     echo "crc: directory not found on host: \$DIR" >&2