diff --git a/docs/convention.md b/docs/convention.md
index e7dc43a..7b08154 100644
--- a/docs/convention.md
+++ b/docs/convention.md
@@ -202,7 +202,9 @@ that cutover is done; set it true once the pin and lockfile match.
   optional titles, and Markdown escapes; code spans/fences and external or
   fragment-only destinations are ignored. Checked Markdown filenames must use
   portable `/` separators; literal backslashes are reported as non-portable.
-  Targets must be tracked, so a gitignored-but-present file does not pass.
+  Targets must be tracked, so a gitignored-but-present file does not pass;
+  a present-but-untracked target is reported as untracked rather than
+  broken. The check never runs Git's check-in pipeline to decide that.
 - **Package manager (opt-in)**: convention workspaces use pnpm.
   `init` writes a Corepack `packageManager` pin, pnpm scripts, and
   `"packageManager": { "enforce": true }`. Existing configs without the
diff --git a/src/checks/docsLinks.ts b/src/checks/docsLinks.ts
index b742ca8..b7e8ba4 100644
--- a/src/checks/docsLinks.ts
+++ b/src/checks/docsLinks.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 // backtick/tilde fenced blocks.
 import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
 import { posix } from "node:path";
-import type { DocsLinksConfig } from "../config.ts";
+import { portablePathIdentity, type DocsLinksConfig } from "../config.ts";
 import { readWorkspaceText, workspaceLstat } from "../lib/workspaceFs.ts";
 
 type Destination = { offset: number; raw: string };
@@ -283,11 +283,65 @@ function pathPart(href: string): string {
   return href;
 }
 
+// Whether git itself lists the target as an untracked, non-ignored path, so
+// the diagnostic can say "untracked" instead of "broken". This is a
+// classification, not a promise that `git add` will succeed: deciding that
+// would mean entering git's check-in pipeline (clean filters execute
+// commands) and re-deriving its path validity rules. The listing is
+// filter-free, literal, and collapses directories to one entry so output is
+// bounded. Portable-identity collisions with tracked paths stay broken: the
+// link is spelled differently from the file git tracks, and no commit of the
+// untracked spelling could check out next to it on a case-insensitive
+// filesystem.
+function isUntrackedTarget(target: string, trackedIdentities: Set<string>): boolean {
+  if (target.includes("\0")) return false;
+  const identity = portablePathIdentity(target);
+  const components = identity.split("/");
+  for (let depth = 1; depth <= components.length; depth += 1) {
+    if (trackedIdentities.has(components.slice(0, depth).join("/"))) return false;
+  }
+  const prefix = `${identity}/`;
+  for (const tracked of trackedIdentities) {
+    if (tracked.startsWith(prefix)) return false;
+  }
+  try {
+    const result = spawnSync(
+      "git",
+      [
+        "--literal-pathspecs",
+        "ls-files",
+        "--others",
+        "--exclude-standard",
+        "--directory",
+        "--no-empty-directory",
+        "-z",
+        "--",
+        target,
+      ],
+      { encoding: "utf8" },
+    );
+    return result.status === 0 && result.stdout.split("\0").some(Boolean);
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 export function docsLinkErrors(config: DocsLinksConfig): string[] {
   const bad: string[] = [];
   const result = spawnSync("git", ["ls-files", "-z"], { encoding: "utf8" });
   if (result.status !== 0) return ["could not list tracked files"];
   const tracked = new Set(result.stdout.split("\0").filter(Boolean));
+  const trackedIdentities = new Set([...tracked].map(portablePathIdentity));
+  // One git process per distinct target, not per link occurrence.
+  const untrackedByTarget = new Map<string, boolean>();
+  const isUntracked = (target: string): boolean => {
+    let known = untrackedByTarget.get(target);
+    if (known === undefined) {
+      known = isUntrackedTarget(target, trackedIdentities);
+      untrackedByTarget.set(target, known);
+    }
+    return known;
+  };
   const isTracked = (target: string): boolean => {
     if (target === ".") return tracked.size > 0;
     if (tracked.has(target)) return true;
@@ -338,8 +392,16 @@ export function docsLinkErrors(config: DocsLinksConfig): string[] {
       }
       if (href.startsWith("/")) continue;
       const target = posix.normalize(posix.join(posix.dirname(file), href)).replace(/\/+$/, "");
-      if (target === ".." || target.startsWith("../") || !isTracked(target)) {
+      if (target === ".." || target.startsWith("../")) {
         bad.push(`${file}: broken link (${raw})`);
+      } else if (!isTracked(target)) {
+        // The rule is deliberate: a present-but-untracked target would break
+        // for everyone else. Name the cause; do not promise a remedy.
+        bad.push(
+          isUntracked(target)
+            ? `${file}: untracked link target (${raw}); the link resolves only once it is tracked`
+            : `${file}: broken link (${raw})`,
+        );
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/test/docs-links.test.ts b/test/docs-links.test.ts
index 557127a..4e6f22b 100644
--- a/test/docs-links.test.ts
+++ b/test/docs-links.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
-import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, symlinkSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, symlinkSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
 import { test } from "vite-plus/test";
@@ -96,6 +96,109 @@ test("docs links reports broken inline, image, reference, and malformed destinat
   ]);
 });
 
+test("docs links names a stageable untracked target instead of calling it broken", () => {
+  const dir = repository();
+  put(
+    dir,
+    "README.md",
+    [
+      "[new script](scripts/new.ts)",
+      "[new dir](generated)",
+      "[ignored](build/out.js)",
+      "[gone](scripts/gone.ts)",
+      "",
+    ].join("\n"),
+  );
+  put(dir, ".gitignore", "build/\n");
+  track(dir);
+  put(dir, "scripts/new.ts", "export {};\n");
+  put(dir, "generated/index.md", "# generated\n");
+  put(dir, "build/out.js", "// ignored\n");
+
+  assert.deepEqual(check(dir), [
+    "README.md: untracked link target (scripts/new.ts); the link resolves only once it is tracked",
+    "README.md: untracked link target (generated); the link resolves only once it is tracked",
+    "README.md: broken link (build/out.js)",
+    "README.md: broken link (scripts/gone.ts)",
+  ]);
+});
+
+test("docs links keeps case collisions broken and reports embedded repositories as untracked", () => {
+  const dir = repository();
+  put(dir, "README.md", "[case](guide.md)\n[embedded](nested)\n");
+  put(dir, "Guide.md", "# guide\n");
+  track(dir);
+  // On a case-insensitive filesystem this overwrites Guide.md; on a
+  // case-sensitive one it creates a distinct untracked file. Both must stay
+  // broken: staging cannot produce a tree that checks out everywhere.
+  put(dir, "guide.md", "# guide\n");
+  mkdirSync(join(dir, "nested"), { recursive: true });
+  execFileSync("git", ["init", "-q"], { cwd: join(dir, "nested") });
+
+  assert.deepEqual(check(dir), [
+    "README.md: broken link (guide.md)",
+    "README.md: untracked link target (nested); the link resolves only once it is tracked",
+  ]);
+});
+
+test("docs links keeps NUL and empty-directory targets on the broken-link message", () => {
+  const dir = repository();
+  put(dir, "README.md", "[nul](file%00.md)\n[empty](emptydir)\n[twice](emptydir)\n");
+  track(dir);
+  mkdirSync(join(dir, "emptydir"), { recursive: true });
+
+  assert.deepEqual(check(dir), [
+    "README.md: broken link (file%00.md)",
+    "README.md: broken link (emptydir)",
+    "README.md: broken link (emptydir)",
+  ]);
+});
+
+test("docs links does not run git's check-in pipeline while validating", () => {
+  const dir = repository();
+  put(dir, "README.md", "[new](notes/new.md)\n");
+  put(dir, ".gitattributes", "*.md filter=marker\n");
+  track(dir);
+  execFileSync(
+    "git",
+    ["config", "filter.marker.clean", `sh -c 'touch "${join(dir, "FILTER_RAN")}"; cat'`],
+    { cwd: dir },
+  );
+  put(dir, "notes/new.md", "# untracked\n");
+
+  assert.deepEqual(check(dir), [
+    "README.md: untracked link target (notes/new.md); the link resolves only once it is tracked",
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(existsSync(join(dir, "FILTER_RAN")), false);
+});
+
+test("docs links rejects an untracked target below a tracked path that aliases it", () => {
+  const dir = repository();
+  put(dir, "README.md", "[ancestor](guide/sub/file.md)\n");
+  put(dir, "Guide", "# tracked file\n");
+  track(dir);
+  // Keep `Guide` in the index but clear the working copy so the colliding
+  // directory can exist on a case-insensitive filesystem too; on Linux both
+  // would coexist and git would stage the file.
+  rmSync(join(dir, "Guide"));
+  put(dir, "guide/sub/file.md", "# collides with tracked Guide\n");
+
+  assert.deepEqual(check(dir), ["README.md: broken link (guide/sub/file.md)"]);
+});
+
+test("docs links treats link targets as literal paths, not git patterns", () => {
+  const dir = repository();
+  put(dir, "README.md", "[glob](missing%2A.md)\n[dir](assets)\n");
+  track(dir);
+  put(dir, "missing1.md", "# not the link target\n");
+  put(dir, "assets/a.png", "png");
+
+  assert.deepEqual(check(dir), [
+    "README.md: broken link (missing%2A.md)",
+    "README.md: untracked link target (assets); the link resolves only once it is tracked",
+  ]);
+});
+
 test("docs links skips tracked symlink leaves and reports missing tracked Markdown", () => {
   const dir = repository();
   put(dir, "README.md", "# Readme\n");