diff --git a/devlog/_plan/260817_wave5_execution/020_1899_harden_ordering.md b/devlog/_plan/260817_wave5_execution/020_1899_harden_ordering.md
index da0984d352..e88391d6bb 100644
--- a/devlog/_plan/260817_wave5_execution/020_1899_harden_ordering.md
+++ b/devlog/_plan/260817_wave5_execution/020_1899_harden_ordering.md
@@ -41,6 +41,31 @@ their Windows/POSIX split is already correct on `dev`.
 
 ## Closure
 
-#1899 cannot merge as-is (DIRTY). Land the one-file residue as a direct commit on
-`dev`, then close #1899 with a comment naming the commit, what was taken, and
-what #1881 already covered.
+#1899 cannot merge as-is (CONFLICTING/DIRTY, head `8ab0aa8d0` — re-verified after a
+transient `UNKNOWN` reading). Land the one-file residue as a direct commit on `dev`,
+then close #1899 with a comment naming the commit, what was taken, and what #1881
+already covered.
+
+## Outcome (executed)
+
+DONE. Two commits on `tests/codex-catalog-writer.test.ts`:
+
+| Commit | Change |
+|--------|--------|
+| `fb5ceee35` | bind `temp:`/`harden:`/`publish:`\|`rename:` to one temp path; assert `hardenIndex < publishIndex` |
+| `50a057e20` | state the scope limit the review asked for |
+
+**Red proof.** Forcing the harden index above the publish index fails 4 of 9 tests;
+restoring returns all 9 to green. An independent reviewer reproduced this with two
+ablations on a scratch copy and found something the plan had not predicted: for the
+two backup mutators the index comparison is the **only** detector. `publishNoReplace`
+is `linkSync`, so a temp hardened after publication still shares the destination's
+inode — `chmod` succeeds, `statSync` reads `0o600`, the leftover-`.tmp` check passes,
+and every other assertion agrees nothing is wrong. Only the order disagrees.
+
+**Scope limit, now written into the test.** `io` is an injected seam, so what is
+asserted is production's call order (`src/config.ts:236`,
+`src/codex/internal/catalog-writer.ts:147` both run write → harden → publish).
+Supplying `io` bypasses `hardenSecretPath`, so this proves hardening is *requested*
+on the temp before publication, not that it restricts. The Windows NTFS ACL is
+covered in `tests/windows-secret-acl.test.ts`.
diff --git a/tests/codex-catalog-writer.test.ts b/tests/codex-catalog-writer.test.ts
index a350058976..62d2f24bb7 100644
--- a/tests/codex-catalog-writer.test.ts
+++ b/tests/codex-catalog-writer.test.ts
@@ -237,13 +237,40 @@ for (const mutator of mutators) {
     );
 
     expect(readFileSync(path, "utf8")).toBe("new bytes\n");
-    // Windows exposes synthesized POSIX mode bits, so stat cannot prove that chmod took effect.
-    // The recorded harden call still proves every mutator requested the permission transition.
-    expect(effects.some(effect => effect.startsWith("harden:"))).toBe(true);
     if (process.platform !== "win32") expect(statSync(path).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o600);
     expect(readdirSync(targetDir).filter(name => name.endsWith(".tmp"))).toEqual([]);
-    expect(effects.some(effect => effect.startsWith("temp:"))).toBe(true);
-    expect(effects.some(effect => effect.startsWith(isBackup ? "publish:" : "rename:"))).toBe(true);
+
+    // Bind the three effects to ONE temp path, and to each other in order.
+    //
+    // Unbound `some()` checks — "a temp was written, something was hardened, something
+    // was published" — hold even when the three touch different files, which is the
+    // failure they exist to catch.
+    //
+    // Order matters as much as membership. Hardening lands on the temp file and
+    // publishing moves that already-restricted file into place; if publish ran first,
+    // the destination would sit world-readable for the width of the gap. A set-membership
+    // assertion passes for that writer too, so the index comparison is what makes this a
+    // claim about the race rather than about the call list. For the backup mutators it is
+    // the ONLY detector: `publishNoReplace` is `linkSync`, so a temp hardened after
+    // publication still shares the destination's inode — the mode check reads 0o600 and
+    // the leftover-`.tmp` check passes, while the write was briefly exposed.
+    //
+    // Scope, stated plainly: `io` is an injected seam, so what is asserted here is
+    // production's call ORDER (src/config.ts and src/codex/internal/catalog-writer.ts
+    // both run write → harden → publish). Supplying `io` bypasses the real
+    // implementations, so this proves hardening is REQUESTED on the temp before
+    // publication — not that it restricts. The Windows NTFS ACL that does the actual
+    // restricting is exercised in tests/windows-secret-acl.test.ts, and the POSIX mode
+    // below is the only half `statSync` can observe (Windows reports 0o666 whatever
+    // `chmodSync` did).
+    const tempEffect = effects.find(effect => effect.startsWith("temp:"));
+    expect(tempEffect).toBeDefined();
+    const tempPath = tempEffect!.slice("temp:".length);
+    const hardenIndex = effects.indexOf(`harden:${tempPath}`);
+    const publishIndex = effects.indexOf(`${isBackup ? "publish" : "rename"}:${tempPath}->${path}`);
+    expect(hardenIndex).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(publishIndex).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(hardenIndex).toBeLessThan(publishIndex);
     if (isBackup) expect(result).toBe("written");
   });
 }