diff --git a/internal/verify-5-capabilities.mjs b/internal/verify-5-capabilities.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2cb230cc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/verify-5-capabilities.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * verify-5-capabilities.mjs — prove ALL FIVE capability levels actually render.
+ *
+ * ★ WHY: the card BUILD-DXMAPS-ALL-5-CAPS-WORKING-LOW-BUG was marked done with NO end-to-end check.
+ *   "Done is a passing test, not a field value" — this is that test. First run (2026-09-20) came back
+ *   3/5: caps 1-3 clean, caps 4-5 failing on ONE shared bug (vue-i18n code 27), which is exactly the
+ *   kind of thing a field value hides and a sweep surfaces.
+ *
+ * ★ THE MODEL, grounded not remembered: capability = 5 - PROFILE_TIER, where PROFILE_TIER lives in
+ *   internal/plugin-gallery/discover.mjs:
+ *     nested-mfe-spa 0 · nested-elements-mfe 1 · monolithic 2 · parameterized 3 · single 4
+ *   One representative bundle per level. If a bundle's declared type changes, update REPS here.
+ *
+ * ★ TWO MEASUREMENT TRAPS THIS ENCODES (both cost real debugging time):
+ *   - SHADOW DOM DOES NOT PIERCE. A cap-4/cap-5 composite mounts CHILD elements with their OWN shadow
+ *     roots, so a single-level querySelector reports a working canvas as absent. Hence the recursive
+ *     deep() walk, and hence "a canvas that HOLDS a GL context" rather than "a canvas exists".
+ *   - shadowRoot.textContent INCLUDES the injected <style>, so regexing it matches CSS. Clone the
+ *     children, drop STYLE nodes, then read visible copy.
+ *
+ * WHAT COUNTS AS PASS: the element mounts, has real height (>=200px), renders real text (>40 chars),
+ * and produces ZERO console errors and ZERO HTTP>=400. Rendering without errors is the bar, because a
+ * console error is what masks the NEXT real failure.
+ *
+ * USAGE
+ *   bun run verify:5-caps                       # against the live catalog
+ *   BASE=http://127.0.0.1:8080/doxa-maps/ node internal/verify-5-capabilities.mjs   # a local serve
+ * Exits non-zero if any level fails, so it can gate a release.
+ */
+import { chromium } from 'playwright'
+
+const GL=['--use-gl=swiftshader','--enable-unsafe-swiftshader','--ignore-gpu-blocklist','--enable-webgl','--no-sandbox']
+const B=(process.env.BASE || 'https://nuxtbase.app/plugin-assets/doxa-maps/').replace(/\/?$/,'/')
+// capability = 5 - PROFILE_TIER (discover.mjs). One representative per level.
+const REPS=[
+ ['cap-1 single',          'doxa-vision-card/doxa-vision-card/index.html',      'single'],
+ ['cap-2 parameterized',   'people-groups-grid/people-groups-grid/index.html',  'preset-element'],
+ ['cap-3 monolithic',      'doxa-research-map/research-map/index.html',         'monolithic'],
+ ['cap-4 nested-elements', 'dashboard-plus-grid/dashboard-plus-grid/index.html','nested-elements-mfe'],
+ ['cap-5 nested-mfe-spa',  'doxa-maps-spa/doxa-maps-spa/index.html',            'nested-mfe-spa'],
+]
+const b=await chromium.launch({headless:true,args:GL})
+let bad=0
+for(const [name,path,type] of REPS){
+  const page=await b.newPage({viewport:{width:1440,height:900}})
+  const errs=[]; page.on('console',m=>{if(m.type()==='error')errs.push(m.text().slice(0,60))})
+  const http=[]; page.on('response',r=>{if(r.status()>=400)http.push(r.status()+' '+r.url().slice(-44))})
+  try{ await page.goto(B+path+'?cb=5c',{waitUntil:'networkidle',timeout:90000}) }
+  catch(e){ console.log(`  FAIL ${name} — nav`); bad++; await page.close(); continue }
+  await page.waitForTimeout(15000)
+  const r=await page.evaluate(()=>{
+    // shadow DOM does NOT pierce — walk nested roots
+    const deep=(root,sel,out=[])=>{out.push(...root.querySelectorAll(sel))
+      for(const el of root.querySelectorAll('*')) if(el.shadowRoot) deep(el.shadowRoot,sel,out); return out}
+    const host=[...document.querySelectorAll('*')].find(e=>e.tagName.includes('-')&&e.shadowRoot)
+    if(!host) return {mounted:false}
+    const sr=host.shadowRoot, bb=host.getBoundingClientRect()
+    // visible copy only (textContent includes injected <style>)
+    const clone=document.createElement('div')
+    ;[...sr.children].forEach(c=>{if(c.tagName!=='STYLE')clone.appendChild(c.cloneNode(true))})
+    clone.querySelectorAll('style').forEach(s=>s.remove())
+    const txt=clone.textContent.replace(/\s+/g,' ').trim()
+    const cv=deep(sr,'canvas').find(c=>c.getContext('webgl2')||c.getContext('webgl'))
+    return { mounted:true, tag:host.tagName.toLowerCase(),
+      size:Math.round(bb.width)+'x'+Math.round(bb.height),
+      h:Math.round(bb.height),
+      nested: [...sr.querySelectorAll('*')].filter(e=>e.tagName.includes('-')).length,
+      glCanvas: !!cv, textLen: txt.length, head: txt.slice(0,58) }
+  })
+  const ok = r.mounted && r.h>=200 && r.textLen>40 && errs.length===0 && http.length===0
+  console.log(`  ${ok?'PASS':'FAIL'} ${name} [${type}]`)
+  console.log(`       ${r.mounted?`${r.tag} ${r.size} nested=${r.nested} gl=${r.glCanvas} text=${r.textLen}`:'DID NOT MOUNT'}`)
+  if(r.head) console.log(`       "${r.head}"`)
+  if(errs.length) console.log(`       console errors: ${errs.length} -> ${errs[0]}`)
+  if(http.length) console.log(`       HTTP>=400: ${http.length} -> ${http[0]}`)
+  if(!ok) bad++
+  await page.close()
+}
+console.log(`\n5-CAPS: ${bad?`FAIL — ${bad} of ${REPS.length}`:`PASS — all ${REPS.length} capability levels mount, render and are error-free`}`)
+await b.close()
+if (bad) process.exit(1)
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index cd32532da..33b90a5d5 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@
     "check:template-literal": "node internal/template-literal-check.mjs",
     "verify:map-paint": "node internal/verify-map-paint.mjs",
     "check:sri": "node internal/sri-consistency-check.mjs",
-    "check:settled": "node internal/settled-tree-gate.mjs"
+    "check:settled": "node internal/settled-tree-gate.mjs",
+    "verify:5-caps": "node internal/verify-5-capabilities.mjs"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@capacitor/android": "7",