diff --git a/lib/state-root.ts b/lib/state-root.ts
index a0b178060..34a0fa756 100644
--- a/lib/state-root.ts
+++ b/lib/state-root.ts
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ export const MERGED_CONFIG_KEYS: Record<string, readonly string[]> = {
 };
 
 /** Same parse as `gstack-config get`: last `^key:` line wins, value trimmed, empty = unset. */
-function readKeyFromRoot(root: string, key: string): string | null {
+export function readKeyFromRoot(root: string, key: string): string | null {
   let yaml: string;
   try {
     yaml = fs.readFileSync(`${root}/config.yaml`, 'utf-8');
diff --git a/lib/transcript-consent.ts b/lib/transcript-consent.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8f39dd3c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/transcript-consent.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,425 @@
+/**
+ * transcript-consent — the one reader of transcript consent. Reads
+ * `transcript_ingest_mode` and `transcript_repos` together from every root in
+ * mergedStateRoots() and returns one policy that gstack-memory-ingest,
+ * gstack-gbrain-sync and gstack-brain-sync (through this file's CLI) share.
+ *
+ * Value grammar: `<base>[@<YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ>][+repos]`, base recent | all |
+ * off | new. `@<time>` is required for `new` and invalid otherwise; `off+repos`
+ * is invalid. Readers parse case-insensitively. `+repos` marks a value whose
+ * scope lives in `transcript_repos`, so a gstack that predates the allowlist
+ * reads it as unrecognized and ingests nothing.
+ *
+ * Across roots: a non-consenting value in any root wins (off, legacy,
+ * unrecognized). The resolved root must hold the consent itself. Time
+ * constraints stack (a 90-day window from any `recent`, the latest `new@`
+ * cutoff), and the repo set is the intersection of every root's allowlist.
+ *
+ * CLI (bin/gstack-brain-sync):
+ *   --check              exit 0 iff transcript pages may sync at all
+ *   --describe           print the effective consent in words
+ *   --purge              remove unpublished staged pages outside a scoped consent
+ *   --guard-unpublished  drop excluded pages from unpublished sync commits;
+ *                        exit 3 when the push must not happen
+ * Docs: setup-gbrain/memory.md#transcripts.
+ */
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { createHash } from 'node:crypto';
+import { canonicalizeRemote } from './gstack-memory-helpers';
+import { mergedStateRoots, readKeyFromRoot, resolveStateRoot } from './state-root';
+
+export const MODE_KEY = 'transcript_ingest_mode';
+export const REPOS_KEY = 'transcript_repos';
+const BRAIN_SYNC_AUTHOR = 'gstack-brain-sync';
+const MODE_RE = /^(recent|all|off|new)(?:@(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}t\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}z))?(\+repos)?$/i;
+const ROLLING_DAYS = 90;
+
+export type TranscriptBase = 'recent' | 'all' | 'off' | 'new';
+
+export interface TranscriptModeValue {
+  base: TranscriptBase;
+  /** ISO-8601 UTC cutoff (`new` only). */
+  cutoff: string | null;
+  /** The value carries the `+repos` allowlist marker. */
+  repos: boolean;
+}
+
+/** True when `s` is exactly `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ` and names a real instant. */
+export function isUtcSecond(s: string): boolean {
+  const ms = Date.parse(s);
+  return Number.isFinite(ms) && new Date(ms).toISOString().replace('.000Z', 'Z') === s;
+}
+
+/** Parse one stored value (case-insensitive). null = not valid grammar. */
+export function parseTranscriptMode(raw: string): TranscriptModeValue | null {
+  const m = MODE_RE.exec(raw.trim());
+  if (!m) return null;
+  const base = m[1].toLowerCase() as TranscriptBase;
+  const cutoff = m[2] ? m[2].toUpperCase() : null;
+  if ((base === 'new') !== (cutoff !== null)) return null;
+  if (cutoff !== null && !isUtcSecond(cutoff)) return null;
+  if (base === 'off' && m[3]) return null;
+  return { base, cutoff, repos: m[3] !== undefined };
+}
+
+export type TranscriptConsentReason =
+  | 'recent'
+  | 'all'
+  | 'new'
+  | 'off'
+  | 'not-set'
+  | 'legacy'
+  | 'unrecognized'
+  | 'repos-unreadable';
+
+export interface TranscriptConsent {
+  /** Every root consents; transcripts may be walked without an override. */
+  affirmative: boolean;
+  /** recent = rolling 90 days (mtime, as before), new = cutoff only, all = no time limit. */
+  window: 'recent' | 'all' | 'new' | null;
+  reason: TranscriptConsentReason;
+  /** The resolved root's stored value (null when absent). */
+  value: string | null;
+  /** Latest `new@` cutoff across roots. Applies even under an explicit override. */
+  cutoff?: string;
+  /** Canonical remotes allowed across roots ([] = none). Applies even under an override. */
+  repos?: string[];
+}
+
+export interface TranscriptPolicy extends TranscriptConsent {
+  /** Roots whose config.yaml sets either key. */
+  roots: string[];
+}
+
+export type TranscriptExclusion = 'pre-cutoff' | 'missing-start' | 'not-allowlisted';
+
+export function parseRepoList(raw: string): string[] {
+  const out: string[] = [];
+  for (const part of raw.split(',')) {
+    const remote = canonicalizeRemote(part);
+    if (remote && !out.includes(remote)) out.push(remote);
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+/** Read the effective transcript consent across `roots` (resolved root first). */
+export function readTranscriptConsent(roots: string[] = mergedStateRoots()): TranscriptPolicy {
+  const resolvedValue = roots.length > 0 ? readKeyFromRoot(roots[0], MODE_KEY) : null;
+  let reason: TranscriptConsentReason | null = resolvedValue === null ? 'not-set' : null;
+  let rolling = false;
+  let cutoff: string | undefined;
+  let repos: string[] | undefined;
+  const contributing: string[] = [];
+  for (const root of roots) {
+    const raw = readKeyFromRoot(root, MODE_KEY);
+    const list = readKeyFromRoot(root, REPOS_KEY);
+    if (raw === null && list === null) continue;
+    contributing.push(root);
+    let marker = false;
+    if (raw !== null) {
+      const v = raw.trim().toLowerCase();
+      const parsed = parseTranscriptMode(v);
+      let rootReason: TranscriptConsentReason | null = null;
+      if (!parsed) rootReason = /^[a-e]$/.test(v) || v === 'incremental' ? 'legacy' : 'unrecognized';
+      else if (parsed.base === 'off') rootReason = 'off';
+      else {
+        marker = parsed.repos;
+        if (parsed.base === 'recent') rolling = true;
+        if (parsed.cutoff && (!cutoff || parsed.cutoff > cutoff)) cutoff = parsed.cutoff;
+      }
+      reason ??= rootReason;
+    }
+    const entries = list === null ? [] : parseRepoList(list);
+    if (entries.length > 0) repos = repos ? repos.filter((r) => entries.includes(r)) : entries;
+    else if (marker) {
+      repos = [];
+      reason ??= 'repos-unreadable';
+    }
+  }
+  const affirmative = reason === null;
+  const window = !affirmative ? null : rolling ? 'recent' : cutoff ? 'new' : 'all';
+  const policy: TranscriptPolicy = {
+    affirmative,
+    window,
+    reason: reason ?? (window as TranscriptConsentReason),
+    value: resolvedValue,
+    roots: contributing,
+  };
+  if (cutoff !== undefined) policy.cutoff = cutoff;
+  if (repos !== undefined) policy.repos = repos;
+  return policy;
+}
+
+/** A cutoff or an allowlist narrows consent to some sessions. */
+export function isScoped(c: TranscriptConsent): boolean {
+  return c.cutoff !== undefined || c.repos !== undefined;
+}
+
+/** Transcript pages may sync at all: consent, and a repo set that is not empty. */
+export function allowsTranscripts(c: TranscriptConsent): boolean {
+  return c.affirmative && !(c.repos !== undefined && c.repos.length === 0);
+}
+
+/** Short stable id of the allowlist, recorded with a memory stage so a scope change restages. */
+export function reposHash(repos: string[]): string {
+  return createHash('sha256').update([...repos].sort().join('\n')).digest('hex').slice(0, 12);
+}
+
+/** The `new@` cutoff check on a session's first record timestamp (never mtime). */
+export function cutoffExclusion(c: TranscriptConsent, startedAt: string | null | undefined): 'pre-cutoff' | 'missing-start' | null {
+  if (c.cutoff === undefined) return null;
+  const ms = startedAt ? Date.parse(startedAt) : NaN;
+  if (!Number.isFinite(ms)) return 'missing-start';
+  return ms < Date.parse(c.cutoff) ? 'pre-cutoff' : null;
+}
+
+/** The allowlist check on a session's canonical git remote. */
+export function repoExclusion(c: TranscriptConsent, remote: string | null | undefined): 'not-allowlisted' | null {
+  if (c.repos === undefined) return null;
+  const canonical = canonicalizeRemote(remote ?? '');
+  return canonical && c.repos.includes(canonical) ? null : 'not-allowlisted';
+}
+
+/** Why one session is outside the scope, or null when it is inside. Consent itself is checked by callers. */
+export function sessionExclusion(
+  c: TranscriptConsent,
+  session: { startedAt?: string | null; remote?: string | null },
+): TranscriptExclusion | null {
+  return cutoffExclusion(c, session.startedAt) ?? repoExclusion(c, session.remote);
+}
+
+function formatCutoff(cutoff: string): string {
+  return `${cutoff.slice(0, 10)} ${cutoff.slice(11, 19)} UTC`;
+}
+
+/** The effective consent in words: window or cutoff, up to 3 repos, contributing roots. */
+export function describeTranscriptPolicy(p: TranscriptPolicy): string {
+  let time: string;
+  if (p.window === 'recent') time = `sessions from the last ${ROLLING_DAYS} days${p.cutoff ? ` that started after ${formatCutoff(p.cutoff)}` : ''}`;
+  else if (p.cutoff) time = `sessions that started after ${formatCutoff(p.cutoff)}`;
+  else time = 'all history';
+  let scope: string;
+  if (p.repos === undefined) scope = 'every repo your repo policy allows';
+  else if (p.repos.length === 0) scope = 'no repo (the repo allowlists share no repo, or one is unreadable)';
+  else {
+    const shown = p.repos.slice(0, 3).join(', ');
+    scope = `${p.repos.length === 1 ? 'repo' : 'repos'} ${shown}${p.repos.length > 3 ? ` +${p.repos.length - 3} more` : ''}`;
+  }
+  const roots = p.roots.length > 0 ? `; config: ${p.roots.join(', ')}` : '';
+  if (!p.affirmative) return `not consented (${p.reason}); scope if overridden: ${time}; ${scope}${roots}`;
+  return `${time}; ${scope}${roots}`;
+}
+
+// ── Staged pages ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/** Frontmatter fields of a staged page (flat `key: value` lines). */
+export function pageFrontmatter(text: string): Record<string, string> {
+  const out: Record<string, string> = {};
+  if (!text.startsWith('---\n')) return out;
+  const end = text.indexOf('\n---', 4);
+  if (end < 0) return out;
+  for (const line of text.slice(4, end).split('\n')) {
+    const m = /^([a-z_]+):\s?(.*)$/.exec(line);
+    if (m) out[m[1]] = m[2].trim();
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Why a staged page under transcripts/ must not sync, or null. Pages typed as
+ * another memory type (artifacts staged in a remote-http run dir) are never
+ * excluded here. Without consent every transcript page is excluded.
+ */
+export function pageExclusion(c: TranscriptConsent, text: string): TranscriptExclusion | 'not-consented' | null {
+  const fm = pageFrontmatter(text);
+  if (fm.type && fm.type !== 'transcript') return null;
+  if (!c.affirmative) return 'not-consented';
+  return sessionExclusion(c, { startedAt: fm.session_started_at || fm.start_time, remote: fm.git_remote });
+}
+
+function git(home: string, args: string[]): { ok: boolean; out: string } {
+  const r = spawnSync('git', ['-C', home, ...args], { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 30_000, maxBuffer: 64 * 1024 * 1024 });
+  return { ok: r.status === 0, out: r.stdout || '' };
+}
+
+/** origin/<branch> for the checked-out branch, or null (no repo, detached, never pushed). */
+function upstreamRef(home: string): string | null {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(home, '.git'))) return null;
+  const branch = git(home, ['rev-parse', '--abbrev-ref', 'HEAD']).out.trim();
+  if (!branch || branch === 'HEAD') return null;
+  const ref = `origin/${branch}`;
+  return git(home, ['rev-parse', '--verify', '--quiet', ref]).ok ? ref : null;
+}
+
+function walkMarkdown(dir: string, out: string[] = []): string[] {
+  let entries: fs.Dirent[];
+  try {
+    entries = fs.readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true });
+  } catch {
+    return out;
+  }
+  for (const e of entries) {
+    const full = path.join(dir, e.name);
+    if (e.isDirectory()) walkMarkdown(full, out);
+    else if (e.isFile() && e.name.endsWith('.md')) out.push(full);
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+/** Drop ingest fingerprints so a later widening re-stages these sources. */
+function clearFingerprints(home: string, sourcePaths: string[]): void {
+  if (sourcePaths.length === 0) return;
+  const statePath = path.join(home, '.transcript-ingest-state.json');
+  let state: { sessions?: Record<string, unknown> };
+  try {
+    state = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(statePath, 'utf-8'));
+  } catch {
+    return;
+  }
+  if (!state.sessions) return;
+  let changed = false;
+  for (const p of sourcePaths) {
+    if (p in state.sessions) {
+      delete state.sessions[p];
+      changed = true;
+    }
+  }
+  if (!changed) return;
+  const tmp = `${statePath}.tmp.${process.pid}`;
+  fs.writeFileSync(tmp, JSON.stringify(state, null, 2), 'utf-8');
+  fs.renameSync(tmp, statePath);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Remove staged transcript pages that are not yet published and fall outside
+ * a scoped consent (cutoff or allowlist). Without consent pages are kept, as
+ * before: they wait in the queue until the user consents. Published pages are
+ * left alone; removing them from the brain is a separate operation.
+ */
+export function purgeStagedTranscripts(home: string, c: TranscriptConsent): number {
+  if (!c.affirmative || !isScoped(c)) return 0;
+  const dir = path.join(home, 'transcripts');
+  if (!fs.existsSync(dir)) return 0;
+  const ref = upstreamRef(home);
+  const published = new Set(
+    ref ? git(home, ['ls-tree', '-r', '--name-only', ref, '--', 'transcripts']).out.split('\n').filter(Boolean) : [],
+  );
+  const sources: string[] = [];
+  let removed = 0;
+  for (const file of walkMarkdown(dir)) {
+    const rel = path.relative(home, file).split(path.sep).join('/');
+    if (published.has(rel)) continue;
+    let text: string;
+    try {
+      text = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf-8');
+    } catch {
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (pageExclusion(c, text) === null) continue;
+    fs.rmSync(file, { force: true });
+    removed++;
+    const source = pageFrontmatter(text).source_path;
+    if (source) sources.push(source);
+  }
+  clearFingerprints(home, sources);
+  return removed;
+}
+
+/** Queue a path again (same record shape as bin/gstack-brain-enqueue). */
+function enqueue(home: string, rel: string, seq: number): void {
+  const spool = path.join(home, '.brain-queue.d');
+  fs.mkdirSync(spool, { recursive: true });
+  const tmp = path.join(spool, `.tmp-${process.pid}-g${seq}`);
+  fs.writeFileSync(tmp, JSON.stringify({ file: rel, ts: new Date().toISOString().replace(/\.\d{3}Z$/, 'Z') }) + '\n');
+  fs.renameSync(tmp, path.join(spool, `${Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)}-${process.pid}-g${seq}.json`));
+}
+
+export interface GuardResult {
+  status: 'clean' | 'rewritten' | 'blocked';
+  removed: string[];
+  message?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Before a push: scan the unpublished range for transcript pages outside the
+ * current consent. When some exist and every unpublished commit is
+ * gstack-brain-sync's own, soft-reset to the upstream, unstage the excluded
+ * pages and recommit, so nothing excluded is ever pushed. Otherwise block.
+ * Under a scoped consent the excluded pages are also purged from disk (with
+ * their fingerprints). Pages removed while consent is absent stay on disk and
+ * are queued again, so they wait for consent like never-committed pages.
+ */
+export function guardUnpublished(home: string, c: TranscriptConsent): GuardResult {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(home, '.git'))) return { status: 'clean', removed: [] };
+  const ref = upstreamRef(home);
+  const range = ref ? `${ref}..HEAD` : 'HEAD';
+  const touched = [...new Set(git(home, ['log', '--format=', '--name-only', range, '--', 'transcripts']).out.split('\n').filter(Boolean))];
+  if (touched.length === 0) return { status: 'clean', removed: [] };
+  purgeStagedTranscripts(home, c);
+  const inHead = new Set(git(home, ['ls-tree', '-r', '--name-only', 'HEAD', '--', 'transcripts']).out.split('\n').filter(Boolean));
+  const excluded: string[] = [];
+  for (const rel of touched) {
+    let text: string | null = null;
+    if (inHead.has(rel)) text = git(home, ['show', `HEAD:${rel}`]).out;
+    else {
+      const sha = git(home, ['log', '-n1', '--format=%H', '--diff-filter=AM', range, '--', rel]).out.trim();
+      if (sha) text = git(home, ['show', `${sha}:${rel}`]).out;
+    }
+    if (text !== null && pageExclusion(c, text) !== null) excluded.push(rel);
+  }
+  if (excluded.length === 0) return { status: 'clean', removed: [] };
+  const authors = new Set(git(home, ['log', '--no-merges', '--format=%an', range]).out.split('\n').filter(Boolean));
+  if (!ref) return { status: 'blocked', removed: [], message: `push blocked: ${excluded.length} transcript page(s) outside your transcript consent are in unpushed commits and there is no upstream branch to rewrite against` };
+  if ([...authors].some((a) => a !== BRAIN_SYNC_AUTHOR)) {
+    return { status: 'blocked', removed: [], message: `push blocked: ${excluded.length} transcript page(s) outside your transcript consent are in unpushed commits that include your own commits; remove them (git rm --cached) and amend, then sync again` };
+  }
+  if (!git(home, ['diff', '--cached', '--quiet']).ok) {
+    return { status: 'blocked', removed: [], message: 'push blocked: excluded transcript pages are in unpushed commits and the index has other staged changes' };
+  }
+  if (!git(home, ['reset', '-q', '--soft', ref]).ok) return { status: 'blocked', removed: [], message: 'push blocked: could not rewrite unpushed sync commits' };
+  const headExcluded = excluded.filter((rel) => inHead.has(rel));
+  const published = new Set(git(home, ['ls-tree', '-r', '--name-only', ref, '--', ...headExcluded]).out.split('\n').filter(Boolean));
+  const restore = headExcluded.filter((rel) => published.has(rel));
+  const drop = headExcluded.filter((rel) => !published.has(rel));
+  if (restore.length > 0) git(home, ['reset', '-q', ref, '--', ...restore]);
+  if (drop.length > 0) git(home, ['rm', '-q', '--cached', '--ignore-unmatch', '--', ...drop]);
+  if (!git(home, ['diff', '--cached', '--quiet']).ok) {
+    const ts = new Date().toISOString().replace(/\.\d{3}Z$/, 'Z');
+    const commit = spawnSync('git', ['-C', home, '-c', 'user.email=gstack@localhost', '-c', `user.name=${BRAIN_SYNC_AUTHOR}`, 'commit', '-q', '-m', `sync: rewritten without ${excluded.length} excluded transcript page(s) | ${ts}`], { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 30_000 });
+    if (commit.status !== 0) return { status: 'blocked', removed: [], message: 'push blocked: could not recommit unpushed sync changes' };
+  }
+  if (!c.affirmative) {
+    let seq = 0;
+    for (const rel of drop) if (fs.existsSync(path.join(home, rel))) enqueue(home, rel, ++seq);
+  }
+  return { status: 'rewritten', removed: excluded };
+}
+
+if (import.meta.main) {
+  const cmd = process.argv[2];
+  const home = resolveStateRoot();
+  const policy = readTranscriptConsent();
+  if (cmd === '--check') process.exit(allowsTranscripts(policy) ? 0 : 1);
+  if (cmd === '--describe') {
+    console.log(describeTranscriptPolicy(policy));
+    process.exit(0);
+  }
+  if (cmd === '--purge') {
+    const n = purgeStagedTranscripts(home, policy);
+    if (n > 0) console.error(`BRAIN_SYNC: removed ${n} staged transcript pages outside the new scope`);
+    process.exit(0);
+  }
+  if (cmd === '--guard-unpublished') {
+    const r = guardUnpublished(home, policy);
+    if (r.status === 'rewritten') console.error(`BRAIN_SYNC: removed ${r.removed.length} excluded transcript pages from unpublished sync commits`);
+    if (r.status === 'blocked') {
+      console.error(`BRAIN_SYNC: ${r.message}`);
+      process.exit(3);
+    }
+    process.exit(0);
+  }
+  console.error('Usage: bun run lib/transcript-consent.ts --check | --describe | --purge | --guard-unpublished');
+  process.exit(2);
+}
diff --git a/test/transcript-consent.test.ts b/test/transcript-consent.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..998ef972d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/transcript-consent.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+/**
+ * lib/transcript-consent.ts: the value grammar, the multi-root policy, the
+ * per-session and per-page scope checks, and the parity of the bash validator
+ * and remote canonicalizer in bin/gstack-config with their TS twins.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'os';
+import { join } from 'path';
+
+import { canonicalizeRemote } from '../lib/gstack-memory-helpers';
+import {
+  describeTranscriptPolicy,
+  pageExclusion,
+  parseTranscriptMode,
+  readTranscriptConsent,
+  reposHash,
+  sessionExclusion,
+  type TranscriptConsent,
+} from '../lib/transcript-consent';
+
+const CONFIG_BIN = join(import.meta.dir, '..', 'bin', 'gstack-config');
+const TS = '2026-10-03T17:00:00Z';
+
+/** Every grammar combination: base x (cutoff | none) x (+repos | none). */
+function combinations(): Array<{ value: string; valid: boolean }> {
+  const out: Array<{ value: string; valid: boolean }> = [];
+  for (const base of ['recent', 'all', 'off', 'new']) {
+    for (const at of ['', `@${TS}`]) {
+      for (const marker of ['', '+repos']) {
+        const valid = (base === 'new') === (at !== '') && !(base === 'off' && marker !== '');
+        out.push({ value: `${base}${at}${marker}`, valid });
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+const INVALID_FORMS = [
+  `new@2026-10-03T17:00:00+00:00`, // offsets are rejected; only Z
+  `new@2026-10-03T17:00:00.000Z`, // milliseconds are not part of the grammar
+  `new@2026-10-03 17:00:00Z`,
+  `new@2026-10-03`,
+  `new@2026-02-30T00:00:00Z`, // not a real day
+  `new@2026-13-01T00:00:00Z`,
+  `new@2026-10-03T24:00:00Z`,
+  `new+repos@${TS}`, // @ precedes +repos
+  `new@`,
+  'recent+repo',
+  'yes',
+  'A',
+  'incremental',
+  '',
+];
+
+describe('grammar', () => {
+  test('every base x cutoff x marker combination', () => {
+    for (const { value, valid } of combinations()) {
+      const parsed = parseTranscriptMode(value);
+      expect({ value, valid: parsed !== null }).toEqual({ value, valid });
+      if (parsed) {
+        expect(parsed.base).toBe(value.split(/[@+]/)[0] as never);
+        expect(parsed.cutoff).toBe(value.includes('@') ? TS : null);
+        expect(parsed.repos).toBe(value.endsWith('+repos'));
+      }
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('readers are case-insensitive; offsets, bad dates and misplaced parts are rejected', () => {
+    expect(parseTranscriptMode(`NEW@2026-10-03t17:00:00z+REPOS`)).toEqual({ base: 'new', cutoff: TS, repos: true });
+    expect(parseTranscriptMode('  Recent ')).toEqual({ base: 'recent', cutoff: null, repos: false });
+    expect(parseTranscriptMode('new@2028-02-29T00:00:00Z')).not.toBeNull();
+    for (const value of INVALID_FORMS) expect({ value, parsed: parseTranscriptMode(value) }).toEqual({ value, parsed: null });
+  });
+
+  test('gstack-config set accepts exactly the canonical valid forms and rejects the rest with the file unchanged', () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-grammar-'));
+    try {
+      const env = { ...process.env, GSTACK_STATE_ROOT: root };
+      const run = (...args: string[]) => spawnSync('bash', [CONFIG_BIN, ...args], { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 30_000, env });
+      expect(run('set', 'transcript_repos', 'github.com/acme/app').status).toBe(0);
+      for (const { value, valid } of combinations()) {
+        const r = run('set', 'transcript_ingest_mode', value);
+        expect({ value, status: r.status }).toEqual({ value, status: valid ? 0 : 1 });
+      }
+      run('set', 'transcript_ingest_mode', 'recent');
+      for (const value of [...INVALID_FORMS.filter(Boolean), 'Recent', `new@2026-10-03t17:00:00z`]) {
+        const r = run('set', 'transcript_ingest_mode', value);
+        expect({ value, status: r.status }).toEqual({ value, status: 1 });
+        expect(r.stderr).toContain(`Error: transcript_ingest_mode '${value}' not recognized. Valid values: recent, all, off. Existing value left unchanged.`);
+        expect(r.stderr).toContain('new@<YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ>');
+      }
+      expect(run('get', 'transcript_ingest_mode').stdout).toBe('recent+repos');
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('the bash remote canonicalizer matches canonicalizeRemote', () => {
+    const inputs = [
+      'https://github.com/Acme/App.git',
+      'git@github.com:acme/app.git',
+      'ssh://git@github.com/acme/app',
+      'http://user@gitlab.example.com/group/sub/repo.git/',
+      ' "github.com/acme/app/" ',
+      'github.com//acme///app',
+      '/srv/git/repo/.git',
+      'file:///srv/git/repo',
+    ];
+    const script = `. /dev/null; source <(sed -n '/^canonical_remote() {/,/^}/p' "${CONFIG_BIN}"); for x in "$@"; do canonical_remote "$x"; echo; done`;
+    const r = spawnSync('bash', ['-c', script, 'bash', ...inputs], { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 30_000 });
+    expect(r.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(r.stdout.split('\n').slice(0, inputs.length)).toEqual(inputs.map((i) => canonicalizeRemote(i)));
+  });
+});
+
+/** The normalizer shipped before this change (bin/gstack-memory-ingest.ts at v1.91.16.0), verbatim in behavior. */
+function olderNormalizerConsents(value: string | null): boolean {
+  const v = (value ?? '').trim().toLowerCase();
+  return value !== null && (v === 'recent' || v === 'all');
+}
+
+describe('fail-closed encoding', () => {
+  test('a gstack without new@ or allowlist support reads every new value form as no consent', () => {
+    for (const value of [`new@${TS}`, `new@${TS}+repos`, 'recent+repos', 'all+repos']) {
+      expect({ value, consents: olderNormalizerConsents(value) }).toEqual({ value, consents: false });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('the current normalizer treats any unrecognized value as no consent', () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-consent-'));
+    try {
+      for (const value of ['yes', 'new', `recent@${TS}`, 'off+repos', 'new@tomorrow', 'recent+repos+repos']) {
+        writeFileSync(join(root, 'config.yaml'), `transcript_ingest_mode: ${value}\n`);
+        expect(readTranscriptConsent([root])).toMatchObject({ affirmative: false, reason: 'unrecognized', value });
+      }
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe('effective consent across state roots', () => {
+  const roots: string[] = [];
+  const root = (yaml: string | null) => {
+    const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-root-'));
+    roots.push(dir);
+    if (yaml !== null) writeFileSync(join(dir, 'config.yaml'), yaml);
+    return dir;
+  };
+  const cleanup = () => roots.splice(0).forEach((d) => rmSync(d, { recursive: true, force: true }));
+
+  test('off in one root plus new@ in another gives no consent', () => {
+    try {
+      const p = readTranscriptConsent([root(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${TS}\n`), root('transcript_ingest_mode: off\n')]);
+      expect(p).toMatchObject({ affirmative: false, reason: 'off', cutoff: TS });
+      const q = readTranscriptConsent([root('transcript_ingest_mode: off\n'), root(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${TS}\n`)]);
+      expect(q).toMatchObject({ affirmative: false, reason: 'off' });
+    } finally {
+      cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('time constraints stack: the latest cutoff and any 90-day window', () => {
+    try {
+      const later = '2026-11-01T00:00:00Z';
+      expect(readTranscriptConsent([root(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${TS}\n`), root(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${later}\n`)]))
+        .toMatchObject({ affirmative: true, window: 'new', reason: 'new', cutoff: later });
+      expect(readTranscriptConsent([root('transcript_ingest_mode: all\n'), root(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${TS}\n`)]))
+        .toMatchObject({ affirmative: true, window: 'new', cutoff: TS });
+      expect(readTranscriptConsent([root(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${TS}\n`), root('transcript_ingest_mode: recent\n')]))
+        .toMatchObject({ affirmative: true, window: 'recent', cutoff: TS });
+      const all = readTranscriptConsent([root('transcript_ingest_mode: all\n'), root(null)]);
+      expect(all).toMatchObject({ affirmative: true, window: 'all' });
+      expect(all.cutoff).toBeUndefined();
+    } finally {
+      cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('allowlists intersect; disjoint lists give EMPTY and nothing is ingested', () => {
+    try {
+      const a = root('transcript_ingest_mode: recent+repos\ntranscript_repos: github.com/acme/app,github.com/acme/api\n');
+      const b = root('transcript_repos: https://github.com/acme/api.git,github.com/acme/web\n');
+      expect(readTranscriptConsent([a, b])).toMatchObject({ affirmative: true, repos: ['github.com/acme/api'], roots: [a, b] });
+      const c = root('transcript_ingest_mode: all+repos\ntranscript_repos: github.com/other/x\n');
+      const empty = readTranscriptConsent([a, c]);
+      expect(empty.repos).toEqual([]);
+      for (const remote of ['github.com/acme/app', 'github.com/other/x', '']) {
+        expect(sessionExclusion(empty, { startedAt: TS, remote })).toBe('not-allowlisted');
+      }
+    } finally {
+      cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('a +repos marker without a readable allowlist denies', () => {
+    try {
+      for (const yaml of ['transcript_ingest_mode: recent+repos\n', 'transcript_ingest_mode: recent+repos\ntranscript_repos: \n', 'transcript_ingest_mode: all+repos\ntranscript_repos: ,\n']) {
+        expect(readTranscriptConsent([root(yaml)])).toMatchObject({ affirmative: false, reason: 'repos-unreadable', repos: [] });
+      }
+    } finally {
+      cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('the resolved root must hold the consent; other roots only restrict', () => {
+    try {
+      expect(readTranscriptConsent([root(null), root('transcript_ingest_mode: all\n')])).toMatchObject({ affirmative: false, reason: 'not-set' });
+      expect(readTranscriptConsent([root('transcript_ingest_mode: recent\n'), root('transcript_ingest_mode: A\n')])).toMatchObject({ affirmative: false, reason: 'legacy' });
+    } finally {
+      cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe('scope checks', () => {
+  const scoped: TranscriptConsent = { affirmative: true, window: 'new', reason: 'new', value: `new@${TS}+repos`, cutoff: TS, repos: ['github.com/acme/app'] };
+
+  test('sessions: the cutoff uses the start time; the allowlist uses the canonical remote', () => {
+    expect(sessionExclusion(scoped, { startedAt: '2026-10-03T16:59:59Z', remote: 'github.com/acme/app' })).toBe('pre-cutoff');
+    expect(sessionExclusion(scoped, { startedAt: TS, remote: 'git@github.com:Acme/App.git' })).toBeNull();
+    expect(sessionExclusion(scoped, { startedAt: '', remote: 'github.com/acme/app' })).toBe('missing-start');
+    expect(sessionExclusion(scoped, { startedAt: 'not a date', remote: 'github.com/acme/app' })).toBe('missing-start');
+    expect(sessionExclusion(scoped, { startedAt: '2026-10-04T00:00:00Z', remote: 'github.com/acme/web' })).toBe('not-allowlisted');
+    expect(sessionExclusion({ affirmative: true, window: 'recent', reason: 'recent', value: 'recent' }, { startedAt: null, remote: null })).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('pages: frontmatter decides; artifact pages are never excluded; no consent excludes every transcript page', () => {
+    const page = (fm: string) => `---\n${fm}\n---\n\nbody\n`;
+    expect(pageExclusion(scoped, page(`type: transcript\nsession_started_at: 2026-10-04T00:00:00.000Z\ngit_remote: github.com/acme/app`))).toBeNull();
+    expect(pageExclusion(scoped, page(`type: transcript\nstart_time: 2026-09-01T00:00:00Z\ngit_remote: github.com/acme/app`))).toBe('pre-cutoff');
+    expect(pageExclusion(scoped, page('type: transcript\ngit_remote: github.com/acme/app'))).toBe('missing-start');
+    expect(pageExclusion(scoped, page('type: learning'))).toBeNull();
+    expect(pageExclusion(scoped, '# no frontmatter\n')).toBe('missing-start');
+    const recent: TranscriptConsent = { affirmative: true, window: 'recent', reason: 'recent', value: 'recent' };
+    expect(pageExclusion(recent, '# no frontmatter\n')).toBeNull();
+    const off: TranscriptConsent = { affirmative: false, window: null, reason: 'off', value: 'off' };
+    expect(pageExclusion(off, page('type: transcript'))).toBe('not-consented');
+  });
+
+  test('the allowlist hash is order-independent', () => {
+    expect(reposHash(['b', 'a'])).toBe(reposHash(['a', 'b']));
+    expect(reposHash(['a'])).not.toBe(reposHash(['a', 'b']));
+  });
+});
+
+describe('consent in words', () => {
+  test('window or cutoff, up to three repos then +N more, contributing roots', () => {
+    const base = { affirmative: true, reason: 'new' as const, value: 'x', roots: ['/r1', '/r2'] };
+    expect(describeTranscriptPolicy({ ...base, window: 'recent', reason: 'recent' })).toBe('sessions from the last 90 days; every repo your repo policy allows; config: /r1, /r2');
+    expect(describeTranscriptPolicy({ ...base, window: 'new', cutoff: TS, repos: ['a/b/c', 'd/e/f', 'g/h/i', 'j/k/l', 'm/n/o'] }))
+      .toBe('sessions that started after 2026-10-03 17:00:00 UTC; repos a/b/c, d/e/f, g/h/i +2 more; config: /r1, /r2');
+    expect(describeTranscriptPolicy({ ...base, window: 'all', reason: 'all', repos: ['a/b/c'], roots: [] })).toBe('all history; repo a/b/c');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('CLI', () => {
+  test('--check exits 0 only when transcript pages may sync', () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-check-'));
+    mkdirSync(join(root, 'legacy'));
+    try {
+      const check = () =>
+        spawnSync('bun', ['run', join(import.meta.dir, '..', 'lib', 'transcript-consent.ts'), '--check'], {
+          encoding: 'utf-8',
+          timeout: 30_000,
+          env: { ...process.env, GSTACK_STATE_ROOT: root, GSTACK_TEST_LEGACY_ROOT: join(root, 'legacy') },
+        }).status;
+      expect(check()).toBe(1);
+      for (const [yaml, status] of [
+        ['transcript_ingest_mode: recent\n', 0],
+        [`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${TS}\n`, 0],
+        ['transcript_ingest_mode: off\n', 1],
+        ['transcript_ingest_mode: recent+repos\n', 1],
+        ['transcript_ingest_mode: recent+repos\ntranscript_repos: github.com/a/b\n', 0],
+      ] as const) {
+        writeFileSync(join(root, 'config.yaml'), yaml);
+        expect({ yaml, status: check() }).toEqual({ yaml, status });
+      }
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});