diff --git a/docs/contracts/release-pin-graph.md b/docs/contracts/release-pin-graph.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff319ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/contracts/release-pin-graph.md
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+# Release pin graph — mechanism and gap snapshot at 2026-07-27T14:53Z
+
+> TASK-0010 slice 1 (operator ruling 2026-07-26 §1b). This page records the pin mechanisms,
+> observed values, and open gaps at the timestamp above; it is not a live/latest view. Each
+> observation names its repo source. Later train artifacts are versioned records for one selected
+> train, not a replacement for live fleet or latest-release discovery. Nothing here changes
+> behavior.
+
+## 1. The graph — who pins whom, and where
+
+| Consumer → dependency | Pin mechanism | Value at snapshot | Source of truth |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| lattice-server → lattice-sdk | `sdk.ref` SHA file + go.mod pseudo-version | `4a318f24…` / `v0.2.18-0.20260722123932-4a318f246d23` | `lattice-server:sdk.ref`, `lattice-server:go.mod` (integration `c9c6710`) |
+| lattice-server → lattice-dashboard | `dashboard.ref` SHA file (image embeds the built dashboard) | `8e6c206…` (reconciled tip — was `a927c6c`, see G2) | `lattice-server:dashboard.ref` (integration `c9c6710`) |
+| lattice-node-agent → lattice-sdk | go.mod pseudo-version | `v0.2.18-…-4a318f246d23` (same commit as server's) | `lattice-node-agent:go.mod` (integration `03f730a`) |
+| ghcr image ← lattice-server | tag-triggered build: pushing `alpha-X.Y.ZaN` IS the release trigger; the image embeds both refs above | **`alpha-0.2.2a4`**, operator-recorded as deployed and verified by the snapshot | build trigger: `lattice-server:.github/workflows/container.yml` + git tags; deployment observation: `lattice-olympus:messages/archive/20260727-1012Z-zeus-deploy-verified.md` |
+| plugin-index → each plugin | `plugins.json`: per-plugin `channels` (stable/alpha) + `releases[]` carrying `manifest_url`, `artifact_url`, `artifact_sha256`, `signature_ed25519`; publisher ed25519 key pinned at index level | schema `lattice.plugin.index.v1`, `status: "draft"`, generated 2026-07-22 | `lattice-plugin-index:plugins.json` |
+| each plugin (internal) | manifest `version` = `ui/package.json` = Go const, moved together; artifact digest ↔ manifest signature | e.g. sub-store `0.4.0-alpha.1` | each plugin repo: `manifest.json`, `ui/package.json`, `system-go` const; `tools/bump.sh` |
+| dashboard → server | none at build time; runtime API compatibility only. Post-deploy check: About page must show matching versions | — | workspace release law (root AGENTS.md) |
+| plugins → server | required signed `compatibility.server` metadata + optional signed top-level `min_server` train floor | all five declare `compatibility.server`; all five omit `min_server`, so no train floor is selected/signed — see G1 | each plugin's `manifest.json`; `lattice-server:internal/plugin/plugin.go`, `internal/plugin/manifest_v2.go` |
+| Astra → sing-box fork / server | not machine-resolvable from `Package.swift` — see gap G4 | — | — |
+| fleet nodes → sing-box fork binary | deployed binary; version recorded in no repo file — see gap G4 | — | — |
+
+## 2. Version state at the snapshot (second signing wave)
+
+> This table will be wrong after the next signing or tag. A versioned path such as
+> `train/v0.3.0-alpha.1.json` (added after this snapshot) records one explicitly selected train;
+> the associated validator proves document structure, tag lanes, and local cross-field
+> invariants. It does **not** prove
+> that remote tags resolve to the listed commits, repo pin files match, signed digests are true,
+> or that the train is latest/deployed. Those cross-repo checks remain work.
+
+| Repo | Stable | Line at snapshot | Signed bundle digest |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| lattice-server | `v0.2.1` | image train `alpha-0.2.2a4` (deployed); integration `c9c6710` | — |
+| lattice-sdk | `v0.2.17` | integration tip `00943f6e` (the plugin SDK module merge); `c3f2973` — the reconciliation merge — is its ancestor | — |
+| lattice-dashboard | — | `v0.2.2-alpha.7`; integration `8e6c206` (reconciled union) | — |
+| lattice-node-agent | `v0.2.9` | `v0.3.3-alpha.2` | — |
+| plugin vpn-core | index `stable: 0.7.2` | `0.8.0-alpha.7` | `89e4d484…` |
+| plugin sub-store | — | `0.4.0-alpha.1` (embedded-engine line) | `e0524e35…` |
+| plugin wireguard | — | `0.1.0-alpha.9` | `decba2ac…` |
+| plugin netguard | — | `0.1.0-alpha.9` | `ac7e1d66…` |
+| plugin template | — | `0.2.1-alpha.6` | `0a806be8…` |
+
+Every plugin digest above is the SIGNED value at its integration tip, independently confirmed
+by that repo's CI double-pack byte-compare gate. Two signing waves reached this state on
+2026-07-27: the embedded-engine/SDK wave, then the bridge-migration wave.
+
+## 3. Gaps at the snapshot
+
+- **G1 — plugin→server minimum version: METADATA AND MECHANISM PRESENT, FLOOR ABSENT.** Every
+  signed v2 manifest carries required `compatibility.server` metadata. Separately, `min_server`
+  is the optional signed train-floor field (server#22, merged; index mirrors, never owns —
+  rules/01 §8.5). The server validator requires the compatibility metadata to be bounded and
+  non-empty; that is not evidence of a selected `min_server` floor. All five signed manifests
+  omitted `min_server` at the snapshot, and the later first train therefore mirrors none. Closing
+  G1 requires assigning and signing real floors first; train assembly cannot invent them.
+- **G2 — CLOSED.** At the snapshot, `dashboard.ref` pointed at the reconciled tip `8e6c206`,
+  verified in production via the image label `dashboard-revision` on `alpha-0.2.2a4`. The gap
+  was caught by that label after `alpha-0.2.2a3` shipped the pre-reconciliation ref — the label is
+  therefore load-bearing evidence, not decoration.
+- **G3 — FORMAT IN REVIEW, NOT SHIPPED.** At the snapshot, `lattice.release.train.v1` (schema,
+  zero-dependency validator, CI wiring) existed only on open `lattice-plugin-index#3`. The later
+  first candidate is a versioned `train/v0.3.0-alpha.1.json`, not a live `train.json` alias.
+- **G4 — OPEN.** Astra's fork pin and the fleet's deployed sing-box version were unrecorded.
+- **G5 — OPEN, WITH STRUCTURAL VALIDATION IN REVIEW.** The index was hand-generated. PR #3's
+  train validator checked JSON structure, tag lanes, and local cross-field rules; it did not
+  generate the index or cross-check remote tag→commit, pin-file, or signed-digest truth.
+- **G6 — SHARPENED.** The validator reports `server_version` from module metadata when run as
+  `go run …@<version>` (e.g. `v0.2.2-0.20260727095611-c9c671079ab6`) but reports `dev` when
+  run from a plain local build — so the plugin CI gate, which pins a released module version,
+  DOES name a real server, while a hand-built binary does not. Train assembly must take the
+  version from the pinned module reference, not from a local build.
+
+**A property present at the snapshot**: every plugin repo's CI configuration runs the
+released-server manifest validator on `main`, `integration`, and PRs. A rejection therefore
+produces a failing check on those paths; branch policy and human review still decide whether a
+failure can be merged.
+
+## 4. Standing law at the snapshot, and the later implementation
+
+Three tag lanes per `rules/01 §8.5` (image train `alpha-X.Y.ZaN` · prerelease semver
+`vX.Y.Z-alpha.N`, never GitHub Latest · stable semver `vX.Y.Z` on explicit operator decision);
+release order `sdk → server / dashboard / node-agent → docs site → plugins → plugin-index`;
+tag pushes are operator-only. The coordinated-train amendment had landed in `rules/01 §8.5`
+(changelog row #3, co-signed 2026-07-27). At the snapshot, that law specified a standalone
+`vX.Y.Z` train defined by a CI-validated `train.json`, promoted in one operator act, with no
+prerelease component inside a plain train.
+
+The later PR implements candidates as versioned files such as
+`train/v0.3.0-alpha.1.json`. Its present validator proves only structure, tag lanes, and local
+cross-field invariants; cross-repo tag, pin, and digest truth remains unverified as recorded in
+G5. The later implementation detail does not retroactively rewrite what the snapshot-era law
+said.