diff --git a/docs/runbooks/org-migration-rename.md b/docs/runbooks/org-migration-rename.md
index a5d380e..55f99d9 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/org-migration-rename.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/org-migration-rename.md
@@ -72,13 +72,49 @@ gh api repos/smartwatermelon/dotfiles --jq '.owner.login + " " + .owner.type'  #
 cd ~/Developer/dotfiles && gh pr list --limit 1           # identity guard passes, no error
 ```
 
+## Stop: the transfer happens outside this runbook
+
+Parts A–E cover **Step 2** of the design only: the rename and the org. No
+repo has moved yet. Parts F and G below verify a transfer, so do not run
+them here — every repo would still report `owner is twistedmelonman (User)`,
+which is correct for this moment and looks like 31 failures.
+
+Go to `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-09-03-org-migration-design.md` and do:
+
+- **Step 3** — transfer `github-workflows` alone and prove one consumer per
+  org still runs green. It is the cross-org dependency: both orgs reference
+  `uses: smartwatermelon/github-workflows/...`. Read the run log to confirm
+  the reusable workflow resolved from the new owner; a green check by itself
+  is not evidence.
+
+  ```bash
+  bash scripts/org-migration/transfer.sh scripts/org-migration/move-list.txt \
+    --only github-workflows --dry-run
+  bash scripts/org-migration/transfer.sh scripts/org-migration/move-list.txt \
+    --only github-workflows
+  ```
+
+- **Step 4** — transfer the remaining repos:
+
+  ```bash
+  bash scripts/org-migration/transfer.sh scripts/org-migration/move-list.txt --dry-run
+  bash scripts/org-migration/transfer.sh scripts/org-migration/move-list.txt
+  ```
+
+Come back to Part F when Step 4 is done.
+
 ## F. Verify the transfer (`verify.sh`)
 
+Run this **after** design Steps 3 and 4, not before.
+
 ```bash
 bash scripts/org-migration/verify.sh scripts/org-migration/move-list.txt \
-  docs/data/org-migration/baseline "$(mktemp -d)"
+  docs/data/org-migration/2026-09-04-baseline "$(mktemp -d)"
 ```
 
+The baseline directory is dated. `verify.sh` fails and names the path if you
+get it wrong, rather than reporting every repo as a missing snapshot.
+
 **Always give `verify.sh` a fresh, empty after-dir.** It refuses a directory
 that already holds files, because a leftover JSON from an earlier run would be
 compared as though this run had just written it — a repo whose snapshot failed
@@ -103,8 +139,17 @@ real drift.
 
 ## G. The other two machines (TILSIT, MIMOLETTE)
 
-Run section D on each, before the alias-removal PR (plan Task 12) merges.
-Until then the alias keeps the old `hosts.yml` name working.
+Run section D on each, before the alias-removal PR (plan Task 12, design
+Step 6) merges. Until then the alias keeps the old `hosts.yml` name working.
+
+Section D re-logins the keyring. On a machine whose shell was already open
+before the rename, the sourced `gh` wrapper is also stale: reload it with
+`exec bash -l` before verifying, or the old wrapper still tries to switch to
+`smartwatermelon` and fails closed. `which gh` and `hash -t gh` show the
+staleness; `command -v` does not.
+
+Steps 5–7 of the design (org secret, cleanup, docs) are not covered by this
+runbook.
 
 ## Undo
 
diff --git a/scripts/org-migration/tests/test-verify.sh b/scripts/org-migration/tests/test-verify.sh
index b563c18..8cd55b0 100755
--- a/scripts/org-migration/tests/test-verify.sh
+++ b/scripts/org-migration/tests/test-verify.sh
@@ -194,4 +194,30 @@ else
   _fail "nested clone broken: rc=${rc} err=${err}"
 fi
 
+# Case 10: a baseline dir that does not exist must fail on the path, not
+# degrade into a "missing snapshot" line per repo. A mistyped baseline path
+# otherwise reads as total drift across the whole move list.
+out="$(OM_TEST_CORE="${WORK}/core-good" PATH="${WORK}/bin:${PATH}" bash "${VERIFY}" \
+  "${WORK}/list" "${WORK}/nonexistent-baseline" "${WORK}/after-missing-base" \
+  --clones "${WORK}/clones-good" 2>&1)"
+rc=$?
+if [[ "${rc}" -eq 1 && "${out}" == *"does not exist"* && "${out}" != *"missing snapshot"* ]]; then
+  _pass "missing baseline dir: named as the failure, exit 1"
+else
+  _fail "missing baseline dir: rc=${rc} out=${out}"
+fi
+
+# Case 11: an empty baseline dir is the same class of mistake -- a path that
+# exists but holds no snapshots.
+mkdir -p "${WORK}/empty-baseline"
+out="$(OM_TEST_CORE="${WORK}/core-good" PATH="${WORK}/bin:${PATH}" bash "${VERIFY}" \
+  "${WORK}/list" "${WORK}/empty-baseline" "${WORK}/after-empty-base" \
+  --clones "${WORK}/clones-good" 2>&1)"
+rc=$?
+if [[ "${rc}" -eq 1 && "${out}" == *"is empty"* && "${out}" != *"missing snapshot"* ]]; then
+  _pass "empty baseline dir: named as the failure, exit 1"
+else
+  _fail "empty baseline dir: rc=${rc} out=${out}"
+fi
+
 exit "${fail}"
diff --git a/scripts/org-migration/verify.sh b/scripts/org-migration/verify.sh
index 3f4c413..79492a0 100755
--- a/scripts/org-migration/verify.sh
+++ b/scripts/org-migration/verify.sh
@@ -34,6 +34,20 @@ base="${positional[1]}"
 after="${positional[2]}"
 fail=0
 
+# The baseline dir must exist and hold snapshots. Without this check a wrong
+# path is not an error: every repo simply misses its baseline file and the
+# comparison loop reports "missing snapshot" for the whole move list, which
+# reads as catastrophic drift rather than as a typo. Fail on the path itself
+# so the message names the real problem.
+if [[ ! -d "${base}" ]]; then
+  echo "verify: baseline-dir ${base} does not exist" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ -z "$(ls -A "${base}" 2>/dev/null || true)" ]]; then
+  echo "verify: baseline-dir ${base} is empty" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 # The after-dir must be ours alone. A leftover JSON from an earlier run would
 # be compared as though this run had just written it, so a repo whose snapshot
 # failed now could still be reported ok from stale state.