diff --git a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/41-validate-or-regression.sh b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/41-validate-or-regression.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47b7124
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/41-validate-or-regression.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Step 6b — per-target SC2/SC7 gate with the migration's REGRESSION-RELATIVE contract baked in.
+#
+# WHY THIS EXISTS: 40-validate-standalone.sh is STRICT — any standalone test failure exits non-zero. The
+# migration's RATIFIED contract — the one the Step-11 dry-run (99-dryrun.sh) validated and signed off as
+# "PASS 11/11" — is weaker and correct: a target passes iff the extraction introduces NO NEW failure.
+# Pre-existing in-repo red (voyage's 2 doc-consistency drifts re phase_models/phase_signals; ai-psychosis's
+# 1) is the PLUGIN's own concern, not a migration regression. The operator window (run-operator-window.sh
+# step [a]) must enforce THAT contract, not a stricter one — otherwise it STOPs on the first target carrying
+# pre-existing red even though the dry-run blessed it (the bug this script fixes). This is the single
+# per-target gate the window calls; it mirrors 99-dryrun.sh's SC2 decision exactly, reusing capture-fails.sh
+# (the failing-name capture) + sc2-regression.sh (the subset decision). NULL push (D8): read-only validation.
+#
+# CONTRACT:
+#   - sc2_gate target (config-audit): the dedicated gate is deterministic — run it STRICT (PASS/FAIL).
+#   - else: run 40-validate-standalone.sh STRICT. PASS => exit 0.
+#       On FAIL, only a `node --test` suite is regression-eligible: its standalone failing-NAME set must be
+#       a SUBSET of the live in-repo failing-NAME set (regression-relative PASS, "PASS (N pre-existing)").
+#       A structure-validator (validate-plugin*.sh / bash -c) FAIL is a genuine structural defect — NOT
+#       softened. A genuine regression (standalone-only failure) or a missing capture => exit non-zero.
+# Escalate, never mask: any real regression or structural failure exits non-zero so the window STOPs.
+#
+# Usage: 41-validate-or-regression.sh <target-key>
+set -uo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+MAP="$SCRIPT_DIR/plugin-map.json"
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../../.." && pwd)"
+WORK="${WORK:-/tmp/polyrepo-migration}"
+
+[ -f "$MAP" ] || { echo "plugin-map.json missing at $MAP" >&2; exit 2; }
+key="${1:?usage: 41-validate-or-regression.sh <target-key>}"
+
+mapget() { python3 -c "import json;print(json.load(open('$MAP'))['targets']['$key'].get('$1',''))"; }
+
+sc2_gate="$(mapget sc2_gate)"
+test_cmd="$(mapget test_cmd)"
+
+# --- gate target (config-audit): deterministic, strict by design ---
+if [ -n "$sc2_gate" ]; then
+  if WORK="$WORK" bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/$sc2_gate" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "$key: PASS ($sc2_gate)"; exit 0
+  fi
+  echo "$key: FAIL ($sc2_gate)" >&2; exit 1
+fi
+
+# --- strict standalone validation first (SC2 + SC7 + per-target structural checks) ---
+if WORK="$WORK" bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/40-validate-standalone.sh" "$key" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "$key: PASS (standalone strict)"; exit 0
+fi
+
+# Strict failed. Only a node:test suite can fail regression-relative-acceptably; a structure validator
+# failing is a genuine structural defect — do not soften it.
+case "$test_cmd" in
+  *node\ --test*) : ;;
+  *) echo "$key: FAIL (standalone strict; structure validator — not regression-eligible)" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+esac
+
+dest="$WORK/$key"
+[ -d "$dest/.git" ] || { echo "$key: FAIL (no prepped extract at $dest — run 40-validate-standalone.sh first)" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+# Regression-relative: the standalone failing-NAME set must be a SUBSET of the live in-repo failing-NAME set.
+# Capture the standalone set from the PREPPED EXTRACT ($WORK/$key), NOT 40's /tmp/claude-$key side-effect
+# clean room (4e494c8: that coupling masked a real regression when the dir was absent). The subset decision
+# is delegated to sc2-regression.sh; a missing capture FILE there is a hard error, never a false PASS.
+sf="$(mktemp)" && bf="$(mktemp)" || { echo "$key: FAIL (mktemp)" >&2; exit 1; }
+trap 'rm -f "$sf" "$bf"' EXIT
+bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/capture-fails.sh" "$dest" "$test_cmd" > "$sf" 2>/dev/null
+bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/capture-fails.sh" "$REPO_ROOT/plugins/$key" "$test_cmd" > "$bf" 2>/dev/null
+pre="$(wc -l < "$bf" | tr -d '[:space:]')"
+
+if regr="$(bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/sc2-regression.sh" "$sf" "$bf")"; then
+  echo "$key: PASS (${pre} pre-existing, regression-relative)"
+  exit 0
+else
+  rc=$?
+  if [ "$rc" -ge 2 ]; then
+    echo "$key: FAIL (sc2-regression error — missing capture file)" >&2
+  else
+    echo "$key: FAIL (regression: $(printf '%s' "$regr" | grep -c .) new failure(s) absent from in-repo baseline):" >&2
+    printf '%s\n' "$regr" >&2
+  fi
+  exit 1
+fi
diff --git a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/41-validate-or-regression.test.mjs b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/41-validate-or-regression.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58c392c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/41-validate-or-regression.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+// Coverage for 41-validate-or-regression.sh — the per-target gate the operator window calls in step [a].
+// It enforces the migration's RATIFIED contract ("introduce no regression"), NOT the stricter zero-failure
+// gate that made run-operator-window.sh STOP on voyage's / ai-psychosis's pre-existing in-repo red. 41 is
+// thin glue over already-tested detectors (sc2-regression.sh — sc-checks.test.mjs; capture-fails.sh —
+// capture-fails.test.mjs) and over 40-validate-standalone.sh (strict). This suite drives the REAL 41 inside
+// a self-contained fake migration tree: the heavy extract pipeline (40) is STUBBED so the regression-branch
+// glue is exercised hermetically, with no /tmp/polyrepo-migration state and no real plugin extracts.
+//
+// Branches covered: strict-PASS passthrough; regression-relative PASS (standalone ⊆ in-repo); genuine
+// regression FAIL (standalone-only failure); structure-validator FAIL is NOT regression-eligible; the
+// sc2_gate target stays strict (PASS + FAIL).
+import test from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync, copyFileSync, chmodSync } from 'node:fs';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+
+const here = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+
+// One node:test file = imports ONCE + a failing test() per name. (Concatenating per-name single-file
+// strings would duplicate `import test` → SyntaxError → a file-level not-ok instead of per-test names.)
+const failSuite = (names) =>
+  "import test from 'node:test';\nimport assert from 'node:assert/strict';\n" +
+  names.map((n) => `test(${JSON.stringify(n)}, () => assert.equal(1, 2));`).join('\n') +
+  '\n';
+
+function write(p, content, mode) {
+  mkdirSync(path.dirname(p), { recursive: true });
+  writeFileSync(p, content);
+  if (mode) chmodSync(p, mode);
+}
+
+// Build a fake migration tree: SCRIPT_DIR nested 3 deep so 41's REPO_ROOT ($SCRIPT_DIR/../../..) is the root.
+function buildTree() {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'mig41-'));
+  const mig = path.join(root, 'a', 'b', 'c'); // SCRIPT_DIR; ../../.. === root
+  const work = path.join(root, '_work'); // $WORK
+  mkdirSync(mig, { recursive: true });
+
+  // real scripts under test + reused detectors
+  for (const f of ['41-validate-or-regression.sh', 'capture-fails.sh', 'sc2-regression.sh']) {
+    copyFileSync(path.join(here, f), path.join(mig, f));
+  }
+
+  // stub strict 40-validate-standalone.sh: passes ONLY for the designated strict-pass target.
+  write(path.join(mig, '40-validate-standalone.sh'),
+    '#!/usr/bin/env bash\n[ "${1:-}" = "strictpass" ] && exit 0\nexit 1\n', 0o755);
+  // sc2_gate stubs
+  write(path.join(mig, 'gate-pass.sh'), '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit 0\n', 0o755);
+  write(path.join(mig, 'gate-fail.sh'), '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit 1\n', 0o755);
+
+  const NT = "node --test 'tests/**/*.test.mjs'";
+  const map = {
+    targets: {
+      strictpass: { test_cmd: NT },
+      subset: { test_cmd: NT },
+      regress: { test_cmd: NT },
+      structure: { test_cmd: 'bash validate-plugin.sh' },
+      gatepass: { test_cmd: NT, sc2_gate: 'gate-pass.sh' },
+      gatefail: { test_cmd: NT, sc2_gate: 'gate-fail.sh' },
+    },
+  };
+  write(path.join(mig, 'plugin-map.json'), JSON.stringify(map, null, 2));
+
+  // node:test suites for the regression-eligible targets. dest = $WORK/<key> (needs .git); baseline = root/plugins/<key>.
+  const suite = (key, names) => {
+    mkdirSync(path.join(work, key, '.git'), { recursive: true });
+    write(path.join(work, key, 'tests', 'x.test.mjs'), failSuite(names.standalone));
+    write(path.join(root, 'plugins', key, 'tests', 'x.test.mjs'), failSuite(names.baseline));
+  };
+  suite('subset', { standalone: ['shared red'], baseline: ['shared red', 'other in-repo red'] });
+  suite('regress', { standalone: ['shared red', 'extract regressed'], baseline: ['shared red'] });
+
+  return { root, mig, work };
+}
+
+function run41(tree, key) {
+  // Strip NODE_TEST_CONTEXT: 41 → capture-fails → `node --test`, which emits no TAP if it inherits the
+  // harness's nested-test context (Step-6 env-clean gotcha). The real window runs as plain bash, unnested.
+  const env = { ...process.env, WORK: tree.work };
+  delete env.NODE_TEST_CONTEXT;
+  return spawnSync('bash', [path.join(tree.mig, '41-validate-or-regression.sh'), key],
+    { encoding: 'utf8', env });
+}
+
+test('strict-PASS passthrough: 40 passes → 41 PASS (standalone strict), exit 0, no capture', () => {
+  const tree = buildTree();
+  try {
+    const r = run41(tree, 'strictpass');
+    assert.equal(r.status, 0, `strict pass must exit 0: ${r.stderr}`);
+    assert.match(r.stdout, /PASS \(standalone strict\)/, r.stdout);
+  } finally { rmSync(tree.root, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
+
+test('regression-relative PASS: standalone failing-set ⊆ in-repo → exit 0, reports N pre-existing', () => {
+  const tree = buildTree();
+  try {
+    const r = run41(tree, 'subset');
+    assert.equal(r.status, 0, `a subset of in-repo red is not a migration regression: ${r.stdout}${r.stderr}`);
+    assert.match(r.stdout, /pre-existing, regression-relative/, r.stdout);
+  } finally { rmSync(tree.root, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
+
+test('genuine regression FAIL: a standalone-only failure (absent in-repo) → non-zero, names the regression', () => {
+  const tree = buildTree();
+  try {
+    const r = run41(tree, 'regress');
+    assert.notEqual(r.status, 0, 'a new failure introduced by extraction must STOP the window');
+    assert.match(r.stderr, /regression/, r.stderr);
+    assert.match(r.stderr, /extract regressed/, `the regressing test name must be surfaced: ${r.stderr}`);
+  } finally { rmSync(tree.root, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
+
+test('structure-validator FAIL is NOT regression-eligible: bash validator fail → non-zero, never softened', () => {
+  const tree = buildTree();
+  try {
+    const r = run41(tree, 'structure');
+    assert.notEqual(r.status, 0, 'a deterministic structure-validator failure is a genuine defect');
+    assert.match(r.stderr, /not regression-eligible/, r.stderr);
+  } finally { rmSync(tree.root, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
+
+test('sc2_gate target stays strict: gate PASS → exit 0', () => {
+  const tree = buildTree();
+  try {
+    const r = run41(tree, 'gatepass');
+    assert.equal(r.status, 0, r.stderr);
+    assert.match(r.stdout, /PASS \(gate-pass\.sh\)/, r.stdout);
+  } finally { rmSync(tree.root, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
+
+test('sc2_gate target stays strict: gate FAIL → non-zero', () => {
+  const tree = buildTree();
+  try {
+    const r = run41(tree, 'gatefail');
+    assert.notEqual(r.status, 0, 'a failing dedicated gate must STOP the window');
+    assert.match(r.stderr, /FAIL \(gate-fail\.sh\)/, r.stderr);
+  } finally { rmSync(tree.root, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
diff --git a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/99-dryrun.sh b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/99-dryrun.sh
index 30ba49b..f85cedf 100644
--- a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/99-dryrun.sh
+++ b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/99-dryrun.sh
@@ -59,14 +59,9 @@ live_files() {
   echo "$total"
 }
 
-# Failing-test NAME set for a node:test suite, via the stable TAP reporter (locale-independent).
-# $1 = dir to run in, $2 = the plugin's node --test command.
-capture_fails() {
-  local dir="$1" cmd="$2" tapcmd
-  tapcmd="${cmd/node --test/node --test --test-reporter=tap}"
-  ( cd "$dir" && eval "$tapcmd" ) 2>&1 \
-    | grep -E '^not ok ' | sed -E 's/^not ok [0-9]+ - //; s/ #.*$//' | sort -u
-}
+# Failing-test NAME set for a node:test suite — delegated to capture-fails.sh so the SAME capture feeds both
+# this rehearsal and the live operator-window gate (41-validate-or-regression.sh). $1 = dir, $2 = node --test cmd.
+capture_fails() { bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/capture-fails.sh" "$1" "$2"; }
 
 [ -f "$MAP" ] || fail "plugin-map.json missing at $MAP"
 mkdir -p "$WORK"
diff --git a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/RUNBOOK.md b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/RUNBOOK.md
index b4346c5..e01f6c0 100644
--- a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/RUNBOOK.md
+++ b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/RUNBOOK.md
@@ -99,11 +99,15 @@ Order (lower risk last so problems surface while the blast radius is small):
 ```bash
 KEY=<target>     # e.g. voyage
 
-# a. extract + validate standalone (config-audit uses its dedicated SC2 gate)
+# a. extract + validate standalone (config-audit uses its dedicated SC2 gate).
+#    SC2 is REGRESSION-RELATIVE (the contract the Step-11 dry-run validated): 41 runs 40 strict, then on
+#    failure passes iff the standalone failing-test set is a SUBSET of the live in-repo set — so pre-existing
+#    in-repo red (e.g. voyage's 2 doc-consistency drifts, ai-psychosis's 1) does NOT STOP the rollout, while
+#    a genuine extraction-introduced regression still does. (Strict 40 alone would STOP on that blessed red.)
 if [ "$KEY" = "config-audit" ]; then
   WORK=$WORK bash MIG/50-config-audit-sc2.sh                 # config-audit: SC2 PASS (...)
 else
-  WORK=$WORK bash MIG/40-validate-standalone.sh "$KEY"       # <KEY>: PASS (...)
+  WORK=$WORK bash MIG/41-validate-or-regression.sh "$KEY"    # <KEY>: PASS (standalone strict | N pre-existing)
 fi
 
 # b. create the Forgejo repo (auto_init:false, public)
diff --git a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/capture-fails.sh b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/capture-fails.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..93ebf78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/capture-fails.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Failing-test NAME set for a node:test suite, via the stable TAP reporter (locale-independent).
+# Extracted from 99-dryrun.sh's inline capture_fails (mirrors the sc2-regression.sh extraction, 5d112cb) so
+# the SAME capture feeds BOTH the dry-run rehearsal (99-dryrun.sh) and the live operator-window gate
+# (41-validate-or-regression.sh) — a single source of truth prevents the gate and the rehearsal from
+# disagreeing on what "failing" means (the exact class of drift that let the strict window STOP on red the
+# dry-run had blessed).
+#
+# Prints sorted-unique failing test names, one per line. Empty output = the suite reported no `not ok` lines.
+# The caller distinguishes "ran clean" from "did not run": sc2-regression.sh treats a missing capture FILE
+# as a hard error, but an empty-yet-present file is a legitimate zero-failure set. No pipefail: a no-match
+# grep (zero failures) must exit 0, not leak a spurious non-zero up to the caller.
+#
+# Usage: capture-fails.sh <dir> <node --test command>
+set -u
+dir="${1:?dir}"
+cmd="${2:?node --test command}"
+tapcmd="${cmd/node --test/node --test --test-reporter=tap}"
+( cd "$dir" && eval "$tapcmd" ) 2>&1 \
+  | grep -E '^not ok ' | sed -E 's/^not ok [0-9]+ - //; s/ #.*$//' | sort -u
diff --git a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/capture-fails.test.mjs b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/capture-fails.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0333f8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/capture-fails.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+// Coverage for capture-fails.sh — the failing-test-NAME capture extracted from 99-dryrun.sh so a SINGLE
+// source feeds both the dry-run rehearsal and the live operator-window gate (41-validate-or-regression.sh).
+// Proves it reports exactly the failing names (sorted, deduped across files) and stays exit-0 on an all-pass
+// suite — a no-match grep must NOT leak a non-zero status up to the caller (which would masquerade as a
+// failed capture). Drives the real script against tiny node:test fixtures — hermetic, no migration state.
+import test from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync } from 'node:fs';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+
+const here = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const CAP = path.join(here, 'capture-fails.sh');
+const CMD = "node --test 'tests/**/*.test.mjs'";
+
+// One node:test file = imports ONCE + a test() per entry. entry: { name, pass }. (Concatenating
+// per-name single-file strings would duplicate `import test` → SyntaxError → a file-level not-ok, masking
+// the per-test capture under test.)
+const suiteFile = (entries) =>
+  "import test from 'node:test';\nimport assert from 'node:assert/strict';\n" +
+  entries.map((e) => `test(${JSON.stringify(e.name)}, () => assert.equal(1, ${e.pass ? 1 : 2}));`).join('\n') +
+  '\n';
+
+function sandbox(files) {
+  const dir = mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'capfail-'));
+  for (const [rel, content] of Object.entries(files)) {
+    const p = path.join(dir, rel);
+    mkdirSync(path.dirname(p), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(p, content);
+  }
+  return dir;
+}
+
+function cap(dir) {
+  // Strip NODE_TEST_CONTEXT: capture-fails spawns `node --test`, which misbehaves (emits no TAP) when it
+  // inherits the harness's nested-test context (Step-6 env-clean gotcha). The real operator window runs as
+  // plain bash, never nested under node:test, so this only matters inside this harness.
+  const env = { ...process.env };
+  delete env.NODE_TEST_CONTEXT;
+  return spawnSync('bash', [CAP, dir, CMD], { encoding: 'utf8', env });
+}
+
+test('capture-fails reports the failing test name (and only it), exit 0', () => {
+  const dir = sandbox({ 'tests/a.test.mjs': suiteFile([{ name: 'good', pass: true }, { name: 'bad apple', pass: false }]) });
+  try {
+    const r = cap(dir);
+    assert.equal(r.status, 0, `capture must exit 0 even with failures: ${r.stderr}`);
+    assert.equal(r.stdout.trim(), 'bad apple', `only the failing name expected, got: ${JSON.stringify(r.stdout)}`);
+  } finally { rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
+
+test('capture-fails on an all-pass suite → empty output, exit 0 (no-match grep must not leak non-zero)', () => {
+  const dir = sandbox({ 'tests/a.test.mjs': suiteFile([{ name: 'good', pass: true }, { name: 'also good', pass: true }]) });
+  try {
+    const r = cap(dir);
+    assert.equal(r.status, 0, `all-pass must exit 0: ${r.stderr}`);
+    assert.equal(r.stdout.trim(), '', `no failing names expected, got: ${JSON.stringify(r.stdout)}`);
+  } finally { rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
+
+test('capture-fails sorts + dedups failing names across files', () => {
+  const dir = sandbox({
+    'tests/a.test.mjs': suiteFile([{ name: 'zeta', pass: false }, { name: 'alpha', pass: false }]),
+    'tests/b.test.mjs': suiteFile([{ name: 'alpha', pass: false }]), // duplicate name across files collapses to one
+  });
+  try {
+    const r = cap(dir);
+    assert.equal(r.status, 0, r.stderr);
+    assert.equal(r.stdout.trim(), 'alpha\nzeta', `sorted+deduped expected, got: ${JSON.stringify(r.stdout)}`);
+  } finally { rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+});
diff --git a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/run-operator-window.sh b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/run-operator-window.sh
index 3936b2d..7755360 100644
--- a/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/run-operator-window.sh
+++ b/docs/marketplace-polyrepo-migration/migration/run-operator-window.sh
@@ -81,12 +81,19 @@ rollout_one() {
   say ""
   say "==== $key (tag $tag) ===="
 
-  # (a) validate the extract — self-extracts if $WORK/$key is absent
+  # (a) validate the extract — self-extracts if $WORK/$key is absent.
+  #     SC2 is REGRESSION-RELATIVE (the contract the Step-11 dry-run validated): a target passes iff the
+  #     extraction introduces NO NEW failure. Pre-existing in-repo red (voyage's 2 doc-consistency drifts,
+  #     ai-psychosis's 1) is the plugin's own concern — 41-validate-or-regression.sh enforces that exact
+  #     contract (strict 40 first, then standalone-failing ⊆ in-repo-failing) so the window does NOT STOP on
+  #     red the rehearsal blessed. config-audit keeps its dedicated deterministic gate.
   say "  [a] validate extract…"
   if [ "$key" = "config-audit" ]; then
     WORK="$WORK" bash "$MIG/50-config-audit-sc2.sh" >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "$key SC2 gate FAILED — STOP"
   else
-    WORK="$WORK" bash "$MIG/40-validate-standalone.sh" "$key" >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "$key standalone validation FAILED — STOP"
+    sc2out="$(WORK="$WORK" bash "$MIG/41-validate-or-regression.sh" "$key" 2>&1)" \
+      || die "$key standalone validation FAILED (incl. regression-relative SC2) — STOP${sc2out:+ :: $sc2out}"
+    case "$sc2out" in *pre-existing*) say "      ${sc2out#*: }";; esac
   fi
 
   # (b) create the Forgejo repo (201 created | 409 already exists)