diff --git a/internal/settled-tree-gate.mjs b/internal/settled-tree-gate.mjs
index b8248ed61..73a44e2c5 100644
--- a/internal/settled-tree-gate.mjs
+++ b/internal/settled-tree-gate.mjs
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ import { execSync } from 'node:child_process'
 const TREE = process.env.TREE || 'public/doxa-maps'
 const QUIET_SECONDS = Number(process.env.QUIET_SECONDS || 45)
 const MIN_DIRS = Number(process.env.MIN_DIRS || 17)
+const MIN_LEAVES = Number(process.env.MIN_LEAVES || 50)
 
 if (!existsSync(TREE)) {
   console.error('SETTLED-TREE: FAIL — tree does not exist: ' + TREE + ' (a build may be mid-clean)')
@@ -80,13 +81,33 @@ let newest = 0
 // ── signal 3: shape ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 const dirs = readdirSync(TREE, { withFileTypes: true }).filter((e) => e.isDirectory()).length
 
+// ── signal 4: LEAF COUNT ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// ★ ADDED because a per-bundle `BUNDLE=x bun x vite build` does something worse than leave a stale
+// SRI hash: it EMPTIES public/doxa-maps/ of every OTHER bundle's leaf index.html. An agent ran it
+// five times as a compile check and silently deleted 62 leaf pages across 18 bundles — including
+// the root index.html and manifest.json — in bundles it had never touched.
+// Nothing caught it. check:sri only compares a leaf's baked hash to its bundle, so a leaf that no
+// longer EXISTS is simply not checked — the gate passes because there is nothing left to disagree.
+// dirs alone does not catch it either: the directories survive, only their index.html vanishes.
+// (Full builds regenerate the leaves via `bun run tree`, which is why the damage kept healing
+// itself and stayed invisible.)
+const countLeaves = (dir) => {
+  let n = 0
+  for (const e of readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
+    if (e.isDirectory()) n += countLeaves(join(dir, e.name))
+    else if (e.name === 'index.html') n++
+  }
+  return n
+}
+const leaves = countLeaves(TREE)
+
 const quietFor = newest ? Math.round((Date.now() - newest) / 1000) : Infinity
-const ok = builders === 0 && waiters === 0 && churn === 0 && dirs >= MIN_DIRS
+const ok = builders === 0 && waiters === 0 && churn === 0 && dirs >= MIN_DIRS && leaves >= MIN_LEAVES
 
 console.log(
   'SETTLED-TREE: builders=' + builders + ' waiters=' + waiters +
   ' churn(' + QUIET_SECONDS + 's)=' + churn +
-  ' dirs=' + dirs + '/' + MIN_DIRS +
+  ' dirs=' + dirs + '/' + MIN_DIRS + ' leaves=' + leaves + '/' + MIN_LEAVES +
   ' quietFor=' + (quietFor === Infinity ? 'n/a' : quietFor + 's')
 )
 
@@ -99,4 +120,5 @@ if (builders) console.error('  a build is HOLDING the lock — wait for it')
 if (waiters) console.error('  ' + waiters + ' build(s) QUEUED — each will re-run clean and rebuild everything; wait for the QUEUE to drain, not just the current build')
 if (churn) console.error('  ' + churn + ' file(s) written in the last ' + QUIET_SECONDS + 's — something is still writing')
 if (dirs < MIN_DIRS) console.error('  only ' + dirs + ' bundle dirs (expected >=' + MIN_DIRS + ') — likely mid-clean or a half-built tree')
+if (leaves < MIN_LEAVES) console.error('  only ' + leaves + ' leaf index.html (expected >=' + MIN_LEAVES + ') — a per-bundle `BUNDLE=x vite build` empties OTHER bundles\' leaves; run a FULL build to regenerate them')
 process.exit(1)