diff --git a/.okf/log.md b/.okf/log.md
index 5d6385b7b..937344aac 100644
--- a/.okf/log.md
+++ b/.okf/log.md
@@ -3,6 +3,58 @@
 Newest first. Entries before 2026-08-19 are squashed to one line each
 (compacted 2026-08-20); their full text is in this file's git history.
 
+**`okf_validate.py .okf --strict` EXITS 1 on this bundle. It has for some
+time.** The command prints `✓ conformant (N warnings)` and that line is true -
+conformance (§9) means no ERRORS - but `--strict` fails on any warning, so the
+exit code is 1. Reading the friendly line and calling the gate green is the
+easy mistake; it was made repeatedly on 2026-08-20/21 before review caught it.
+**Check `$?`, not the checkmark.**
+
+Measured 2026-08-21 (re-derive rather than trusting these numbers; they move
+with every entry): 82 warnings, of which **57 are §7 date headings** and
+**23 are missing recommended fields**.
+
+The date headings are a deliberate deviation. The spec's template is a bare
+`## <YYYY-MM-DD>` with bullets beneath, which assumes one entry per day; this
+bundle lands several thematic entries per day (12 on 2026-08-21), so bare
+dates would produce a dozen identical headings. **Do not collapse them
+casually** - the conformant shape is one dated heading per day with the themes
+as sub-sections beneath it, which is a restructure of the whole file, not a
+find-and-replace.
+
+**This is a known-red gate, not accepted noise, and it is tracked** in
+`docs/projects/2608-site-design-system/README.md` under Outstanding. Two jobs
+make it green: restructure same-day entries under one heading, and add
+`timestamp` to the 23 concepts missing it (anchored to each file's last commit
+time, which is verifiable - never invented).
+
+## 2026-08-21 - the strict gate has been RED and was being reported green
+
+`okf_validate.py .okf --strict` **exits 1**, and has for some time. It prints
+`✓ conformant (N warnings)` - true, since conformance (§9) means no ERRORS -
+and that line was read as a pass repeatedly through 2026-08-20/21 without ever
+checking `$?`. CLAUDE.md requires this gate before bundle commits, so it was
+being reported green while failing. **Check the exit code, not the checkmark.**
+Textbook evidence-over-assertion: the human-readable summary and the machine
+signal disagreed, and the friendlier one won.
+
+Measured, not estimated: 82 warnings, **57** §7 date headings and **23**
+missing recommended fields. An earlier draft of this entry said "33 of ~80" -
+itself an unmeasured number in a note whose whole purpose was separating known
+noise from real signal.
+
+Also recorded, because it is the opposite mistake: the one "broken cross-link"
+warning points at a file that EXISTS
+(`docs/projects/2605-.../course-landing-components-2026-08.md`); the validator
+declines to resolve outside the bundle and tolerates it under §5.3. Acting on
+that warning would have broken a working link. One warning class is real and
+was ignored; another looks real and must be.
+
+Header now carries the measured breakdown and the two jobs that make the gate
+green (restructure same-day entries under one heading; add `timestamp` to the
+23 concepts missing it, anchored to each file's last commit time). Tracked in
+`docs/projects/2608-site-design-system/README.md` under Outstanding.
+
 ## 2026-08-21 - "tracked separately" was not true; now it is
 
 The DESIGN.md banner written earlier today claimed the full regeneration "is
diff --git a/docs/projects/2608-site-design-system/README.md b/docs/projects/2608-site-design-system/README.md
index c827861ae..363c41022 100644
--- a/docs/projects/2608-site-design-system/README.md
+++ b/docs/projects/2608-site-design-system/README.md
@@ -96,6 +96,26 @@ rather than "the site design system". Also regenerate `.impeccable/design.json`
 if it encodes the same palette, since `/impeccable critique` now carries the
 design-review gate and would score against stale values.
 
+**Make `okf_validate.py .okf --strict` exit 0.** It exits 1 today and has for
+some time; the `✓ conformant` line refers to §9 (no ERRORS), while `--strict`
+fails on any warning. CLAUDE.md requires this gate before bundle commits, so
+it has been reported green while failing. Measured 2026-08-21: 82 warnings —
+**57** §7 date headings, **23** missing recommended fields.
+
+**Re-measure before executing — do not trust the counts above.** They come from
+the validator this machine resolved on 2026-08-21 (the 0.4.0 cache and the
+marketplace copy, which agree). Review flagged that another build may score a
+v0.2 bundle differently; this session could not reproduce that composition with
+either available copy, so treat the numbers as a snapshot, not a spec. The
+bundle declares `okf_version: "0.2"` — run `/okf:validate .okf --strict`
+through the SKILL so it resolves whatever is canonical at the time, re-derive
+the breakdown, and fix what THAT run reports.
+
+The one job that is version-independent: restructure `log.md` so same-day
+themes sit as sub-sections beneath ONE `## YYYY-MM-DD` heading. That is a
+whole-file restructure, not a find-and-replace, and it conflicts with every
+parallel session appending to that file — do it when the repo is quiet.
+
 ## Working notes
 
 Coordinator/session reports do not belong in this directory — write them to