diff --git a/lib/redact-patterns.ts b/lib/redact-patterns.ts
index 45a730c1a..7f6e8f73e 100644
--- a/lib/redact-patterns.ts
+++ b/lib/redact-patterns.ts
@@ -504,8 +504,17 @@ export const PATTERNS: RedactPattern[] = [
     id: "env.kv",
     tier: "MEDIUM",
     category: "secret",
-    description: "Env-style SECRET assignment with high-entropy value",
-    regex: /^[ \t]*(?:export[ \t]+)?[A-Z][A-Z0-9_]*(?:KEY|TOKEN|SECRET|PASSWORD|PASSWD|CREDENTIALS?|DSN|AUTH|COOKIE|SESSION|PRIVATE)[ \t]*=[ \t]*['"]?([^\s'"]{8,})['"]?/,
+    description: "Secret-named assignment (env/YAML/JSON) with high-entropy value",
+    // #1946 gap 3: the original shape required an UPPERCASE name and an `=`
+    // assignment, so `api_key=…`, `apiKey: "…"`, and `password: …` (YAML/JSON
+    // colon form) produced NO finding at all — a detection fail-open on the
+    // most common config shapes. Now case-insensitive with `:` or `=`
+    // assignment and optional quotes around the key (JSON). Still MEDIUM and
+    // entropy-gated: this is the calibrated generic net, not a blocker.
+    // The name part is `[A-Za-z0-9_.-]*` + suffix (zero-or-more prefix, not
+    // one-or-more): a mandatory first char would swallow the suffix's own
+    // first letter and bare names like `password:` / `key:` would never match.
+    regex: /^[ \t]*(?:export[ \t]+)?["']?[A-Za-z0-9_.-]*(?:KEY|TOKEN|SECRET|PASSWORD|PASSWD|CREDENTIALS?|DSN|AUTH|COOKIE|SESSION|PRIVATE)["']?[ \t]*[:=][ \t]*["']?([^\s'"]{8,})["']?/i,
     // Only fire on high-entropy values — kills `FOO_KEY=changeme` FPs.
     validate: (span) =>
       !isPlaceholderSpan(span) &&
diff --git a/setup b/setup
index 6120ab1bb..ad4075848 100755
--- a/setup
+++ b/setup
@@ -2002,19 +2002,47 @@ if [ "$NO_TEAM_MODE" -eq 1 ] && [ -x "$SETTINGS_HOOK" ]; then
   "$SETTINGS_HOOK" remove-source --source plan-tune-cathedral 2>/dev/null || true
 fi
 
-# ─── Redact pre-push guard hint (#1946) ──────────────────────────────────────
+# ─── Redact pre-push guard consent (#1946) ───────────────────────────────────
 # The credential pre-push hook is per-REPO state — setup runs in the gstack
-# checkout, the wrong repo to install it into. /ship offers the install once
-# at the moment of relevance (first push) and silently installs in any repo
-# where redact_prepush_hook=true. This hint is setup's whole involvement.
-# Hint only when UNSET — an explicit "false" is a recorded decline and must
-# not be re-nagged on every setup run (adversarial review finding 11).
+# checkout, the wrong repo to install it into, so setup NEVER installs the
+# hook itself. /ship installs it silently in any repo where
+# redact_prepush_hook=true. What setup owns is CONSENT: on a real interactive
+# terminal it asks ONCE whether pushes should be scanned, recording the
+# answer to the existing redact_prepush_hook key (default stays false — a
+# timeout or non-interactive run changes nothing and keeps the hint-only
+# posture). An explicit answer is persisted and never re-asked; an explicit
+# "false" is a recorded decline (adversarial review finding 11).
 # `gstack-config get` defaults absent keys to "false", which is
 # indistinguishable from a decline — test key presence in the config file.
 _GSTACK_CFG_FILE="${GSTACK_HOME:-$HOME/.gstack}/config.yaml"
 if ! grep -q '^redact_prepush_hook:' "$_GSTACK_CFG_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
-  log ""
-  log "Tip: gstack can block pushes containing credentials (per-repo git hook)."
-  log "     Enable once: gstack-config set redact_prepush_hook true — /ship"
-  log "     installs the hook automatically in every repo you ship from."
+  if [ "$QUIET" -ne 1 ] && [ -t 0 ] && [ -t 1 ]; then
+    _REDACT_PROMPT_TIMEOUT=10
+    log ""
+    log "Credential push guard: gstack can block pushes containing credentials"
+    log "(a per-repo git pre-push hook; /ship installs it automatically in every"
+    log "repo you ship from — nothing is installed right now)."
+    printf "Enable the pre-push credential guard? [y/N] (default: N, auto-skips in %ss): " "$_REDACT_PROMPT_TIMEOUT"
+    read -t "$_REDACT_PROMPT_TIMEOUT" -r _REDACT_REPLY </dev/tty 2>/dev/null || _REDACT_REPLY=""
+    case "$_REDACT_REPLY" in
+      y|Y)
+        "$GSTACK_CONFIG" set redact_prepush_hook true 2>/dev/null || true
+        log "Enabled. /ship will install the guard in each repo at first push."
+        ;;
+      n|N)
+        "$GSTACK_CONFIG" set redact_prepush_hook false 2>/dev/null || true
+        log "Declined — recorded. Re-enable anytime: gstack-config set redact_prepush_hook true"
+        ;;
+      *)
+        # Timed out / empty: don't persist a decline — hint and ask next time.
+        log ""
+        log "Skipped for now. Enable anytime: gstack-config set redact_prepush_hook true"
+        ;;
+    esac
+  else
+    log ""
+    log "Tip: gstack can block pushes containing credentials (per-repo git hook)."
+    log "     Enable once: gstack-config set redact_prepush_hook true — /ship"
+    log "     installs the hook automatically in every repo you ship from."
+  fi
 fi
diff --git a/test/redact-engine.test.ts b/test/redact-engine.test.ts
index 33771f904..2f99758f0 100644
--- a/test/redact-engine.test.ts
+++ b/test/redact-engine.test.ts
@@ -166,6 +166,29 @@ describe("MEDIUM demoted credential-shaped patterns (TENSION-1)", () => {
     expect(ids("API_KEY=${MY_VAR}")).not.toContain("env.kv");
   });
 
+  // #1946 gap 3: the uppercase-`=`-only shape made lowercase and YAML/JSON
+  // colon assignments invisible — the exact config shapes people actually
+  // push. Each closed detection fail-open gets a pinned case.
+  test("env.kv fires on lowercase = assignment (#1946)", () => {
+    expect(ids("api_key=8Fk2pQ9vXz4wL7mN3rT6yB1cD5eG0hJ")).toContain("env.kv");
+  });
+  test("env.kv fires on YAML colon assignment (#1946)", () => {
+    expect(ids("password: 8Fk2pQ9vXz4wL7mN3rT6yB1cD5eG0hJ")).toContain("env.kv");
+  });
+  test("env.kv fires on quoted JSON key colon assignment (#1946)", () => {
+    expect(ids('"apiKey": "8Fk2pQ9vXz4wL7mN3rT6yB1cD5eG0hJ"')).toContain("env.kv");
+  });
+  test("env.kv colon/lowercase forms stay entropy-gated and placeholder-safe", () => {
+    expect(ids("password: changeme")).not.toContain("env.kv");
+    expect(ids("apiKey: YOUR_API_KEY_HERE")).not.toContain("env.kv");
+    expect(ids("api_key=${MY_VAR}")).not.toContain("env.kv");
+  });
+  test("env.kv stays MEDIUM (calibration: generic net, not a blocker)", () => {
+    const f = scan("api_key=8Fk2pQ9vXz4wL7mN3rT6yB1cD5eG0hJ", { repoVisibility: "private" })
+      .findings.find((x) => x.id === "env.kv");
+    expect(f?.tier).toBe("MEDIUM");
+  });
+
   // #1946 — Bearer is the most FP-prone shape in the wave: docs and examples
   // are full of "Authorization: Bearer <token>". MEDIUM + header proximity +
   // the env.kv entropy recipe keep it calibrated.
diff --git a/test/redact-prepush-hook.test.ts b/test/redact-prepush-hook.test.ts
index 1faed1d5c..16f0f6d4b 100644
--- a/test/redact-prepush-hook.test.ts
+++ b/test/redact-prepush-hook.test.ts
@@ -221,6 +221,82 @@ describe("install UX surfaces (#1946 / eng review D3+D10)", () => {
     expect(tmpl).toContain(".redact-prepush-prompted");
     expect(tmpl).toContain("redact_prepush_hook");
   });
+
+  // #1946 / maintainer decision 6: setup asks ONCE for consent on a real TTY,
+  // records the answer to the existing redact_prepush_hook key, and keeps the
+  // hint-only posture everywhere else. Default stays FALSE; setup never
+  // installs the hook itself (the assertion above pins that).
+  describe("one-time consent prompt in setup (#1946, decision 6)", () => {
+    const setup = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, "setup"), "utf8");
+    const block = setup.slice(setup.indexOf("# ─── Redact pre-push guard consent"));
+
+    test("prompt is gated on key ABSENCE and a real TTY, with a timed default-N read", () => {
+      expect(block).toContain("grep -q '^redact_prepush_hook:'");
+      expect(block).toContain('[ -t 0 ] && [ -t 1 ]');
+      expect(block).toContain("[y/N]");
+      expect(block).toContain('read -t "$_REDACT_PROMPT_TIMEOUT"');
+    });
+
+    test("an explicit answer persists true/false; timeout persists NOTHING", () => {
+      expect(block).toContain("set redact_prepush_hook true");
+      expect(block).toContain("set redact_prepush_hook false");
+      // The timeout branch must not write the key (a silent decline would
+      // permanently suppress the ask without the user ever seeing it). The
+      // branch's hint TEXT mentions the command; the executable invocation is
+      // the quoted "$GSTACK_CONFIG" form.
+      const timeoutBranch = block.slice(block.indexOf("*)"), block.indexOf("esac"));
+      expect(timeoutBranch).not.toContain('"$GSTACK_CONFIG" set redact_prepush_hook');
+    });
+
+    test("non-interactive setup keeps the hint-only posture (no prompt, no key write)", () => {
+      const home = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "gstack-consent-"));
+      try {
+        const script = [
+          "QUIET=0",
+          'log() { echo "$@"; }',
+          `GSTACK_CONFIG="${path.join(ROOT, "bin", "gstack-config")}"`,
+          block,
+        ].join("\n");
+        const r = spawnSync("bash", ["-c", script], {
+          encoding: "utf8",
+          stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"], // stdin not a TTY
+          env: { ...process.env, GSTACK_HOME: home },
+          timeout: 15_000,
+        });
+        expect(r.status).toBe(0);
+        expect(r.stdout).toContain("Tip:");
+        expect(r.stdout).not.toContain("[y/N]");
+        const cfg = path.join(home, "config.yaml");
+        const cfgText = fs.existsSync(cfg) ? fs.readFileSync(cfg, "utf8") : "";
+        expect(cfgText).not.toContain("redact_prepush_hook");
+      } finally {
+        fs.rmSync(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      }
+    });
+
+    test("a recorded answer is never re-asked (key present → silent)", () => {
+      const home = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "gstack-consent-set-"));
+      try {
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(home, "config.yaml"), "redact_prepush_hook: false\n");
+        const script = [
+          "QUIET=0",
+          'log() { echo "$@"; }',
+          `GSTACK_CONFIG="${path.join(ROOT, "bin", "gstack-config")}"`,
+          block,
+        ].join("\n");
+        const r = spawnSync("bash", ["-c", script], {
+          encoding: "utf8",
+          stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+          env: { ...process.env, GSTACK_HOME: home },
+          timeout: 15_000,
+        });
+        expect(r.status).toBe(0);
+        expect(r.stdout.trim()).toBe("");
+      } finally {
+        fs.rmSync(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      }
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 describe("escape valve", () => {