diff --git a/assets/skills/distill/SKILL.md b/assets/skills/distill/SKILL.md
index e94936e..a88df7a 100644
--- a/assets/skills/distill/SKILL.md
+++ b/assets/skills/distill/SKILL.md
@@ -277,7 +277,8 @@ When in doubt, ledger only the recent, meaningful gaps rather than backfilling h
 ### 5. Load into the brain index (optional — the pages are already saved on disk)
 The pages you wrote to `$BRAINDIR` above ARE the durable brain; gbrain is just a
 per-machine search index over them. Always use `devbrain brain`; it forwards to
-gbrain when installed and cleanly no-ops for index writes otherwise.
+gbrain when installed and cleanly no-ops for index writes otherwise. A put that
+fails prints one line below; carry it into the fold summary instead of hiding it.
 
 Slug pages under a **per-project namespace** `<project>/<topic>` (NOT the shared
 `project/` prefix — that flat namespace let same-named pages from different projects
@@ -289,7 +290,8 @@ for f in "$BRAINDIR"/*.md; do
   [ -e "$f" ] || continue
   base="$(basename "$f" .md)"
   slug="$project/${base#"$project"-}"        # e.g. devbrain/install ; redlens/roadmap-in-queue
-  devbrain brain put "$slug" < "$f" >/dev/null 2>&1
+  out="$(devbrain brain put "$slug" < "$f" 2>&1)" \
+    || echo "brain put failed for $slug: $(printf '%s\n' "$out" | tail -n 1)"
   devbrain brain tag "$slug" "$project" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 done
 # Embeddings are an OpenAI-backed enhancement — only attempt them when a key is
diff --git a/internal/brain/brain.go b/internal/brain/brain.go
index b9a16ff..ffd68ac 100644
--- a/internal/brain/brain.go
+++ b/internal/brain/brain.go
@@ -77,7 +77,12 @@ func Run(args []string, stdout, stderr io.Writer, stdin io.Reader) int {
 		if retrieval && project != "" {
 			return projectFirstPassthrough(gb, args, project, stdout, stderr, stdin)
 		}
-		code := passthrough(gb, args, stdout, stderr, stdin)
+		var code int
+		if gbrainSubcommand(args) == "put" {
+			code = putPage(gb, args, stdin, stdout, stderr)
+		} else {
+			code = passthrough(gb, args, stdout, stderr, stdin)
+		}
 		if code == 0 && gbrainSubcommand(args) == "put" && hasOpenAIKey() {
 			fmt.Fprintln(stderr, "brain: page stored keyword-only; run 'devbrain brain embed --stale' to update semantic search")
 		}
diff --git a/internal/brain/put.go b/internal/brain/put.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e2f3588
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/brain/put.go
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+package brain
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// putNeedsStdin reports whether gbrain will read the page from stdin for this
+// put: it does unless --content carries the page inline. gbrain documents a
+// trailing --content with no value as "read stdin", so only --content=<text>
+// and --content <text> count as inline.
+func putNeedsStdin(args []string) bool {
+	for i, arg := range args {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(arg, "--content=") {
+			return false
+		}
+		if arg == "--content" && i+1 < len(args) {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
+// putPage runs `gbrain put` and, when the engine refuses because the page
+// already exists (revision_required, gbrain >= 0.51), writes it again with
+// --force.
+//
+// gbrain's write contract wants the revision a caller read before it replaces
+// a page. devbrain has no such reader: the Markdown page on disk is the source
+// of truth and this wrapper is the index's only writer, so the disk copy always
+// wins and a revision conflict is never a real one here. Older engines never
+// answer revision_required, so they never see --force. A caller who already
+// passed --force or --expected-revision gets gbrain's own answer, because those
+// outcomes carry other codes. The superseded receipt from the first attempt is
+// dropped when the retry succeeds; any other failure is relayed unchanged.
+//
+// stdin is buffered only when gbrain would read it (see putNeedsStdin), so an
+// interactive `put --content ...` cannot block on a terminal, and the retry
+// replays the same bytes.
+func putPage(gb string, args []string, stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
+	var content []byte
+	if stdin != nil && putNeedsStdin(args) {
+		var err error
+		if content, err = io.ReadAll(stdin); err != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "brain: reading the page from stdin: %v\n", err)
+			return 1
+		}
+	}
+	var out, errOut bytes.Buffer
+	code := passthrough(gb, args, &out, &errOut, bytes.NewReader(content))
+	if code != 0 && strings.Contains(out.String()+errOut.String(), "revision_required") {
+		forced := append(append(make([]string, 0, len(args)+1), args...), "--force")
+		return passthrough(gb, forced, stdout, stderr, bytes.NewReader(content))
+	}
+	stdout.Write(out.Bytes())
+	stderr.Write(errOut.Bytes())
+	return code
+}
diff --git a/internal/brain/put_force_test.go b/internal/brain/put_force_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e2c773
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/brain/put_force_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+package brain_test
+
+// gbrain 0.51 (2026-09-17) made `put` refuse an existing page unless the caller
+// sends the revision it read (exit 1, "revision_required"). devbrain's Markdown
+// pages on disk are the source of truth and this wrapper is the index's only
+// writer, so a page update must land anyway: the wrapper repeats the write with
+// --force instead of surfacing a conflict that is never real for it.
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/TheWeiHu/devbrain/internal/clitest"
+)
+
+// revisionStub stands in for gbrain. Every call appends its argv to
+// $STUB_LOG/argv; a put also saves its stdin as $STUB_LOG/stdin.<call#>. A put
+// without --force answers the way gbrain 0.60 does for an existing page (JSON
+// receipt on stdout, Error line on stderr, exit 1); with --force it succeeds.
+// STUB_MODE=other-error fails the put differently so a test can prove that
+// only revision_required earns a retry. Everything else (tag, delete, embed)
+// succeeds silently.
+const revisionStub = `#!/bin/sh
+printf '%s\n' "$*" >> "$STUB_LOG/argv"
+n=$(wc -l < "$STUB_LOG/argv" | tr -d ' ')
+case "$1" in
+  put)
+    cat > "$STUB_LOG/stdin.$n"
+    case "$*" in
+      *--force*) echo "updated $2"; exit 0 ;;
+    esac
+    if [ "$STUB_MODE" = other-error ]; then
+      echo 'Error [invalid_params]: slug has no project prefix' >&2
+      exit 2
+    fi
+    printf '{"error":"revision_required","code":"revision_required","message":"The page already exists; an expected revision is required."}\n'
+    echo 'Error [revision_required]: The page already exists; an expected revision is required.' >&2
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+esac
+exit 0
+`
+
+func newRevisionHarness(t *testing.T) (*clitest.Harness, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	h := clitest.New(t)
+	h.Project = "owner__alpha"
+	stub := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "gbrain-revision-stub")
+	clitest.WriteExec(t, stub, revisionStub)
+	logDir := t.TempDir()
+	h.Env["DEVBRAIN_GBRAIN"] = stub
+	h.Env["STUB_LOG"] = logDir
+	return h, logDir
+}
+
+func stubCalls(t *testing.T, logDir string) []string {
+	t.Helper()
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(logDir, "argv"))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return strings.Split(strings.TrimRight(string(data), "\n"), "\n")
+}
+
+func stubStdin(t *testing.T, logDir string, call int) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(logDir, fmt.Sprintf("stdin.%d", call)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("stdin of gbrain call %d was not recorded: %v", call, err)
+	}
+	return string(data)
+}
+
+func TestBrainPutRetriesWithForceOnRevisionRequired(t *testing.T) {
+	h, logDir := newRevisionHarness(t)
+	page := "# Install\nUpdated on disk; the index must follow.\n"
+
+	res := h.RunWith(clitest.RunOpts{Stdin: page}, "brain", "put", "owner__alpha/install")
+
+	if res.Code != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("exit %d, want 0\nstdout: %s\nstderr: %s", res.Code, res.Stdout, res.Stderr)
+	}
+	calls := stubCalls(t, logDir)
+	want := []string{"put owner__alpha/install", "put owner__alpha/install --force"}
+	if strings.Join(calls, "|") != strings.Join(want, "|") {
+		t.Fatalf("gbrain calls = %q, want %q", calls, want)
+	}
+	if got := stubStdin(t, logDir, 2); got != page {
+		t.Errorf("forced retry received %q as the page, want the same stdin as the first attempt", got)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(res.Stdout+res.Stderr, "revision_required") {
+		t.Errorf("the superseded conflict receipt leaked into the output\nstdout: %s\nstderr: %s", res.Stdout, res.Stderr)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(res.Stdout, "updated owner__alpha/install") {
+		t.Errorf("stdout = %q, want the successful retry's output", res.Stdout)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBrainPutLeavesOtherFailuresAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	h, logDir := newRevisionHarness(t)
+
+	res := h.RunWith(clitest.RunOpts{Stdin: "# x\n", Env: map[string]string{"STUB_MODE": "other-error"}},
+		"brain", "put", "install")
+
+	if res.Code != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("exit %d, want gbrain's own exit code 2\nstdout: %s\nstderr: %s", res.Code, res.Stdout, res.Stderr)
+	}
+	if calls := stubCalls(t, logDir); len(calls) != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("gbrain called %d times (%q), want exactly once: only revision_required earns a retry", len(calls), calls)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(res.Stderr, "invalid_params") {
+		t.Errorf("stderr = %q, want gbrain's error passed through unchanged", res.Stderr)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRebuildForcesUpdatesOfExistingPages(t *testing.T) {
+	h, logDir := newRevisionHarness(t)
+	dir := filepath.Join(h.Data, "projects", "owner__alpha", "brain")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	page := "# Install\nSecond edition.\n"
+	clitest.WriteFile(t, filepath.Join(dir, "install.md"), page)
+
+	res := h.Run("rebuild")
+
+	if res.Code != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("exit %d, want 0\nstdout: %s\nstderr: %s", res.Code, res.Stdout, res.Stderr)
+	}
+	calls := stubCalls(t, logDir)
+	var puts []string
+	for _, c := range calls {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(c, "put ") {
+			puts = append(puts, c)
+		}
+	}
+	want := []string{"put owner__alpha/install", "put owner__alpha/install --force"}
+	if strings.Join(puts, "|") != strings.Join(want, "|") {
+		t.Fatalf("put calls = %q, want %q (all gbrain calls: %q)", puts, want, calls)
+	}
+	if got := stubStdin(t, logDir, 2); got != page {
+		t.Errorf("forced retry received %q, want the on-disk page", got)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(res.Stdout, "put owner__alpha/install") {
+		t.Errorf("stdout = %q, want the rebuild's per-page progress line", res.Stdout)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/brain/put_stdin_test.go b/internal/brain/put_stdin_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bcd1204
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/brain/put_stdin_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+package brain
+
+import "testing"
+
+// gbrain reads the page from stdin unless --content carries it inline ("omit
+// --content, or put it last, to read stdin"). The wrapper must only buffer
+// stdin when gbrain would read it, so `put --content "..."` from a terminal
+// cannot block waiting for an EOF that never comes.
+func TestPutNeedsStdin(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		args []string
+		want bool
+	}{
+		{[]string{"put", "p/s"}, true},
+		{[]string{"--quiet", "put", "p/s"}, true},
+		{[]string{"put", "p/s", "--content", "inline page text"}, false},
+		{[]string{"put", "p/s", "--content=inline page text"}, false},
+		{[]string{"put", "p/s", "--content"}, true},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		if got := putNeedsStdin(c.args); got != c.want {
+			t.Errorf("putNeedsStdin(%q) = %v, want %v", c.args, got, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/brain/rebuild.go b/internal/brain/rebuild.go
index a6588c5..d17b0b5 100644
--- a/internal/brain/rebuild.go
+++ b/internal/brain/rebuild.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
-	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -44,15 +43,10 @@ func Rebuild(stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
 		if err != nil {
 			return 1 // bash: redirect failure under set -e
 		}
-		put := gbrainCommand(gb, "put", slug)
-		put.Stdin, put.Stdout, put.Stderr = in, io.Discard, stderr
-		err = put.Run()
+		code := putPage(gb, []string{"put", slug}, in, io.Discard, stderr)
 		in.Close()
-		if err != nil { // set -e: a failing put aborts the rebuild
-			if ee, ok := err.(*exec.ExitError); ok {
-				return ee.ExitCode()
-			}
-			return 1
+		if code != 0 { // set -e: a failing put aborts the rebuild
+			return code
 		}
 		tag := gbrainCommand(gb, "tag", slug, project)
 		tag.Stdout, tag.Stderr = io.Discard, io.Discard