diff --git a/internal/check-packets-all.mjs b/internal/check-packets-all.mjs
index 259904de4..73ada6cb5 100644
--- a/internal/check-packets-all.mjs
+++ b/internal/check-packets-all.mjs
@@ -88,7 +88,14 @@ if (!files.length) {
     const { buildLegendNodes, leafZones } = await import(pathToFileURL(resolve(REPO, 'plugin-designs/my-upg-100-list/data/legend-tree.js')).href)
     const zones = leafZones(buildLegendNodes(z, { records: null })).map((l) => l.id)
     const have = new Set(all.map((f) => f.replace(/\.html$/, '')))
-    for (const id of zones) if (!have.has(id)) failures.push(`zone '${id}' has NO generated packet at all`)
+    // ★ COVERAGE IS ASSERTED WHERE ZONES WERE GENERATED. gates:pre's check:packet-offline writes the four
+    // fixture-* packets into this directory, so after gates:pre it is never empty, and a tree that had
+    // generated no zone failed here on all 28: gates:post was red on every landing, for nothing anyone
+    // could fix. Fixtures exercise the renderer, not a zone. One zone packet here and all 28 are required.
+    if (!zones.some((id) => have.has(id))) {
+      console.log(`PACKETS-ALL (headless): coverage not asserted — no zone packet here, only ${all.length} fixture/variant packet(s)`)
+      console.log('  ONLY=<zone> node library/scripts/posters/packet.mjs generates one; then every zone is required.')
+    } else for (const id of zones) if (!have.has(id)) failures.push(`zone '${id}' has NO generated packet at all`)
   }
   // 2. PER PACKET: a non-empty map page and N > 0 groups. The map page is the FIRST sheet; without
   // the lifted poster it holds only the kicker/title/subtitle, so "contains an <img or <svg" is the