diff --git a/documentation/reference.md b/documentation/reference.md
index 69232a871..a971b82b2 100644
--- a/documentation/reference.md
+++ b/documentation/reference.md
@@ -276,6 +276,7 @@ node internal/share-roundtrip-smoke.mjs $ARGS --browser chromium
 > `canvas:y` on all eight. (The two `my-upg-100-list` profiles legitimately share one tag.) Derive the
 > plugin list the same way it was derived here rather than pasting it stale:
 > `grep -rln ShareButton plugin-designs/*/*.vue`.
+| `check:dxlife` | a sibling `root-dx-life/` clone beside this repo | exits **2** — *"clone not found — nothing to check"*. That is a deliberate THIRD value (`0` unchanged · `1` drift · `2` no clone), because this gate exists after a check that returned the PASS value BECAUSE IT FAILED. But `bun run` and any `&&` chain see only zero/non-zero, so it surfaces as FAIL. Measured 2026-09-22 inside a fresh clone: every other browser-free gate passed and only this one went red, for want of a directory an inheritor has no reason to have. It is NOT in `build:unlocked`, so a clone still builds. |
 | `smoke:embeds` · `verify:map-paint` · `verify:5-caps` | `MAPBOX_TOKEN` in the environment | **does not fail — it DEGRADES.** Without a token map profiles cannot mount, and `smoke:embeds` reports them as TIMEOUTS. It once read 27/40 for this reason and 40/40 with a token. A timeout here means "no token" far more often than "broken plugin" |
 
 ```sh