diff --git a/documentation/README-SECTION-3-cli-commands.md b/documentation/README-SECTION-3-cli-commands.md
index 062a053ec..770c1427d 100644
--- a/documentation/README-SECTION-3-cli-commands.md
+++ b/documentation/README-SECTION-3-cli-commands.md
@@ -22,7 +22,11 @@ The scripts these commands are grounded in (from this branch's `package.json`):
 //   BUILD_LOCK_WAIT=600 to QUEUE rather than collide. Note the lock serializes but does NOT
 //   dedupe: N queued builds = N full rebuilds.
 // ★ THE PIPELINE RUNS IN PHASES, NOT AS ONE `&&` CHAIN (2026-09-23). Measured on the build
-//   box: the 29 gates cost 84.5s chained, but 21 of them finish under 700ms — they were
+//   box AS IT WAS THAT DAY — the numbers below are a DATED BENCHMARK, not a running total.
+//   The gate set has grown since (36 steps as of 2026-09-24: 7 pre + 29 post); the timings
+//   and the "31 in, 31 out" count are kept verbatim because they are the EVIDENCE that the
+//   phase change preserved the step set. Restating them as current would destroy that.
+//   Then: the 29 gates cost 84.5s chained, but 21 of them finish under 700ms — they were
 //   queueing behind check:mjs-parse (26.9s) and check:parse (18.7s), not working. The 22 vite
 //   builds cost 129.0s and were never ordered at all: vite.config.js gives each bundle its own
 //   outDir with emptyOutDir:false, so they only ever needed to not overwrite each other.
@@ -36,13 +40,16 @@ The scripts these commands are grounded in (from this branch's `package.json`):
 //   `&&` BETWEEN phases is load-bearing and stays: a source gate still blocks the build, and
 //   the build still blocks every gate that reads its output. Within a phase the runner reports
 //   ALL failures instead of stopping at the first, so three broken gates cost one cycle, not three.
+// ⚠ check:quoted-scripts IS ITSELF IN gates:post, so adding or removing ANY gate changes the
+//   very line this doc quotes — the update is self-referential and takes two passes: wire the
+//   gate, then re-transcribe. That is the mechanism working, not a bug.
 // If you edit package.json, re-transcribe this block — a doc that QUOTES a config is
 // claiming to be ground truth, and this one had silently stopped being it.
 "dev":             "bun x vite",
 "build":           "bash internal/build-lock.sh",
 "build:unlocked":  "bun run gates:pre && bun run library-index && bun run check:library-index && bun run clean && bun run token && bun run build:bundles && bun run tree && bun run gates:post && bun run gallery",
 "gates:pre":       "node internal/run-parallel.mjs --label=pre -- check:template-literal check:mjs-parse check:sfc-parse check:tab-radius check:synced-css check:wp-embed check:doc-scripts",
-"gates:post":      "node internal/run-parallel.mjs --label=post -- check:drop check:parse verify check:sri check:public-hygiene check:label-joins check:facet-cascade check:facet-one-field check:heartbeat check:kpi-unit check:composite-reg check:descriptions check:no-abs-paths check:no-codename check:dep-names check:composite-srcs check:embed-targets check:nested-token",
+"gates:post":      "node internal/run-parallel.mjs --label=post -- check:drop check:parse verify check:sri check:public-hygiene check:label-joins check:facet-cascade check:facet-one-field check:heartbeat check:kpi-unit check:composite-reg check:descriptions check:no-abs-paths check:no-codename check:dep-names check:composite-srcs check:embed-targets check:nested-token check:i18n-parity check:tabs-localized check:packets-all check:packet-strings-parity check:zone-census check:share-policy check:library-index check:csv-shape check:capability-citations check:catalog-identity check:no-orphan-gates check:quoted-scripts",
 "build:bundles":   "node internal/run-parallel.mjs --bundles",   // the 22 vite builds, 4 at a time
 "preview":         "bun x vite preview",
 "serve":           "node internal/serve-strict.mjs",   // 404s a directory, like production
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index f39f82916..eb0c8eca7 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@
     "check:doc-scripts:self-test": "node internal/check-doc-quotes-scripts.mjs --self-test",
     "check:legend-source": "node internal/check-legend-matches-source.mjs   # the numbers the maps SHOW must match the numbers the live SOURCE has. Every other gate checks INTERNAL consistency — a page can agree with itself perfectly while its legend has stopped describing reality. Offline SKIPs (exit 0); only a reachable endpoint that disagrees fails.",
     "gates:pre": "node internal/run-parallel.mjs --label=pre -- check:template-literal check:mjs-parse check:sfc-parse check:tab-radius check:synced-css check:wp-embed check:doc-scripts",
-    "gates:post": "node internal/run-parallel.mjs --label=post -- check:drop check:parse verify check:sri check:public-hygiene check:label-joins check:facet-cascade check:facet-one-field check:heartbeat check:kpi-unit check:composite-reg check:descriptions check:no-abs-paths check:no-codename check:dep-names check:composite-srcs check:embed-targets check:nested-token check:i18n-parity check:tabs-localized check:packets-all check:packet-strings-parity check:zone-census check:share-policy check:library-index check:csv-shape check:capability-citations check:catalog-identity check:no-orphan-gates",
+    "gates:post": "node internal/run-parallel.mjs --label=post -- check:drop check:parse verify check:sri check:public-hygiene check:label-joins check:facet-cascade check:facet-one-field check:heartbeat check:kpi-unit check:composite-reg check:descriptions check:no-abs-paths check:no-codename check:dep-names check:composite-srcs check:embed-targets check:nested-token check:i18n-parity check:tabs-localized check:packets-all check:packet-strings-parity check:zone-census check:share-policy check:library-index check:csv-shape check:capability-citations check:catalog-identity check:no-orphan-gates check:quoted-scripts",
     "build:bundles": "node internal/run-parallel.mjs --bundles",
     "check:maplibre-drops": "node internal/check-maplibre-layer-drops.mjs",
     "check:tabs-localized": "node internal/check-tabs-localized.mjs   # a chosen locale must CHANGE the rendered tab text. check:i18n-parity compares catalogs to each OTHER, so it cannot tell a shipped translation from a dead one; tabs.json is reached only via a DYNAMIC key (SemanticTreeLegend.vue:40), invisible to any grep. Renders it and reads the result.",