diff --git a/bin/gstack-gbrain-sync.ts b/bin/gstack-gbrain-sync.ts
index 1f627b118..d6634ce60 100644
--- a/bin/gstack-gbrain-sync.ts
+++ b/bin/gstack-gbrain-sync.ts
@@ -45,7 +45,14 @@ import { buildGbrainEnv, spawnGbrain, spawnGbrainAsync, execGbrainJson, NEEDS_SH
 import { repoPolicyTier as sharedRepoPolicyTier } from "../lib/gbrain-repo-policy-client";
 import { checkOwnedStagingDir } from "../lib/staging-guard";
 import { resolveStateRoot } from "../lib/state-root";
-import { normalizeTranscriptConsent, type TranscriptConsent } from "./gstack-memory-ingest";
+import type { TranscriptConsent } from "./gstack-memory-ingest";
+import {
+  describeTranscriptPolicy,
+  isScoped,
+  readTranscriptConsent,
+  reposHash,
+  type TranscriptPolicy,
+} from "../lib/transcript-consent";
 
 // ── Types ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -107,11 +114,15 @@ interface StageResult {
 }
 
 interface TranscriptConsentRecord {
-  /** Normalized transcript_ingest_mode: recent | all | off | not-set | legacy | unrecognized. */
+  /** Normalized transcript_ingest_mode: recent | all | new | off | not-set | legacy | unrecognized | repos-unreadable. */
   mode: string;
-  window: "recent" | "all" | null;
+  window: "recent" | "all" | "new" | null;
   /** Why transcripts were not ingested; absent when they were. */
   skip_reason?: string;
+  /** The new@ cutoff in force; a changed cutoff restages. */
+  cutoff?: string;
+  /** Hash of the transcript_repos allowlist in force; a scope change restages. */
+  repos_hash?: string;
 }
 
 // ── Constants ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -304,16 +315,28 @@ export function transcriptConsentNotice(consent: TranscriptConsent, quiet: boole
   if (consent.affirmative) return null;
   const value = consent.value ?? "not set";
   if (override) {
-    return `gbrain-sync: transcripts ingested because ${override} names transcript (transcript_ingest_mode=${value}). ${TRANSCRIPT_CHOICE_HINT}`;
+    const scope = isScoped(consent) ? " The new@ cutoff and transcript_repos allowlist still apply." : "";
+    return `gbrain-sync: transcripts ingested because ${override} names transcript (transcript_ingest_mode=${value}).${scope} ${TRANSCRIPT_CHOICE_HINT}`;
   }
   if (consent.reason === "off") return quiet ? null : "gbrain-sync: transcripts off (your choice)";
+  if (consent.reason === "repos-unreadable") {
+    return `gbrain-sync: transcripts skipped (transcript_ingest_mode=${value}): its +repos marker needs a transcript_repos allowlist, which is missing or empty. Other memory still syncs. ${TRANSCRIPT_CHOICE_HINT}`;
+  }
   return `gbrain-sync: transcripts skipped (transcript_ingest_mode=${value}). Other memory still syncs. ${TRANSCRIPT_CHOICE_HINT}`;
 }
 
-/** The consent record a memory stage stores; resume requires mode and window to match. */
+/** The consent in words for a consenting run (window or cutoff, repos, config roots). */
+export function transcriptConsentSummary(consent: TranscriptPolicy, quiet: boolean): string | null {
+  if (!consent.affirmative || quiet) return null;
+  return `gbrain-sync: transcripts: ${describeTranscriptPolicy(consent)}`;
+}
+
+/** The consent record a memory stage stores; resume requires every field to match. */
 export function transcriptConsentRecord(consent: TranscriptConsent, override: boolean): TranscriptConsentRecord {
   const record: TranscriptConsentRecord = { mode: consent.reason, window: consent.window };
   if (!consent.affirmative && !override) record.skip_reason = consent.reason;
+  if (consent.cutoff !== undefined) record.cutoff = consent.cutoff;
+  if (consent.repos !== undefined) record.repos_hash = reposHash(consent.repos);
   return record;
 }
 
@@ -448,10 +471,12 @@ Options:
                        except ${FEDERATED_CURATED_TYPES.join(",")} when a federated
                        gstack source already indexes them, and except
                        transcript unless transcript_ingest_mode is recent
-                       (last 90 days) or all (all history; --full passes
-                       --all-history). Without that consent each run prints a
-                       notice, even with --quiet. A list naming transcript
-                       overrides the mode for that run. See
+                       (last 90 days), all (all history; --full passes
+                       --all-history) or new@<UTC> (sessions started after
+                       it). Without that consent each run prints a notice,
+                       even with --quiet. A list naming transcript overrides
+                       the mode for that run, but a new@ cutoff and the
+                       transcript_repos allowlist still apply. See
                        setup-gbrain/memory.md#transcripts.
   --help               This text.
 
@@ -1470,12 +1495,12 @@ export function ensureGbrainSourceGitignored(root: string): void {
   }
 }
 
-function printTranscriptNotice(args: CliArgs, consent: TranscriptConsent, selection: ConsentedSelection, why: string): void {
-  const notice = transcriptConsentNotice(consent, args.quiet, selection.override ? why : null);
+function printTranscriptNotice(args: CliArgs, consent: TranscriptPolicy, selection: ConsentedSelection, why: string): void {
+  const notice = transcriptConsentNotice(consent, args.quiet, selection.override ? why : null) ?? transcriptConsentSummary(consent, args.quiet);
   if (notice) console.error(notice);
 }
 
-function runMemoryIngest(args: CliArgs, previous: SyncState, consent: TranscriptConsent): StageResult {
+function runMemoryIngest(args: CliArgs, previous: SyncState, consent: TranscriptPolicy): StageResult {
   const t0 = Date.now();
 
   if (args.mode === "dry-run") {
@@ -1518,14 +1543,19 @@ function runMemoryIngest(args: CliArgs, previous: SyncState, consent: Transcript
     // transcript window.
     const prevStage = previous.last_stages?.find((st) => st.name === "memory");
     const staged = prevStage?.memory_sources ?? [...MEMORY_INGEST_TYPES];
-    const prevConsent = prevStage?.transcript_consent ?? { mode: "recent", window: "recent" };
+    const prevConsent: TranscriptConsentRecord = prevStage?.transcript_consent ?? { mode: "recent", window: "recent" };
     if ([...staged].sort().join(",") !== [...selected].sort().join(",")) {
       console.error(
         `[sync:memory] memory source selection changed since the checkpointed run (${staged.join(",")} → ${selected.join(",")}); restaging from scratch.`,
       );
       resume = { kind: "no-checkpoint" };
     }
-    if (prevConsent.mode !== consentRecord.mode || prevConsent.window !== consentRecord.window) {
+    if (
+      prevConsent.mode !== consentRecord.mode ||
+      prevConsent.window !== consentRecord.window ||
+      prevConsent.cutoff !== consentRecord.cutoff ||
+      prevConsent.repos_hash !== consentRecord.repos_hash
+    ) {
       console.error(
         `gbrain-sync: transcript consent changed since the interrupted import (${prevConsent.mode} → ${consentRecord.mode}); restaging memory from scratch once.`,
       );
@@ -1554,7 +1584,7 @@ function runMemoryIngest(args: CliArgs, previous: SyncState, consent: Transcript
   const ingestArgs = ["run", ingestPath];
   if (args.mode === "full") ingestArgs.push("--bulk");
   else ingestArgs.push("--incremental");
-  if (args.mode === "full" && consent.window === "all") ingestArgs.push("--all-history");
+  if (args.mode === "full" && consent.affirmative && consent.window !== "recent") ingestArgs.push("--all-history");
   if (args.quiet) ingestArgs.push("--quiet");
   if (selection.sources) ingestArgs.push("--sources", selection.sources.join(","));
   if (!args.quiet) console.error(`[sync:memory] sources: ${selected.join(",")} (${selection.why})`);
@@ -1963,7 +1993,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   const args = parseArgs();
   // Read once at sync start: a config change made while the sync runs never
   // adds transcripts to this run.
-  const consent = args.noMemory ? null : normalizeTranscriptConsent();
+  const consent = args.noMemory ? null : readTranscriptConsent();
 
   if (!args.quiet) {
     const engine = detectEngineTier();
diff --git a/bin/gstack-memory-ingest.ts b/bin/gstack-memory-ingest.ts
index 22489b756..80f813545 100644
--- a/bin/gstack-memory-ingest.ts
+++ b/bin/gstack-memory-ingest.ts
@@ -72,7 +72,15 @@ import { execGbrainText, spawnGbrainAsync } from "../lib/gbrain-exec";
 import { writeReceipt } from "../lib/egress-receipt";
 import { checkOwnedStagingDir, STAGING_MARKER } from "../lib/staging-guard";
 import { hasRepoPolicyStore, repoPolicyTierBatch } from "../lib/gbrain-repo-policy-client";
-import { resolveStateRoot, readConfigKeyWithRoot, type StateRootEnv } from "../lib/state-root";
+import { resolveStateRoot, mergedStateRoots, type StateRootEnv } from "../lib/state-root";
+import {
+  cutoffExclusion,
+  purgeStagedTranscripts,
+  readTranscriptConsent,
+  repoExclusion,
+  type TranscriptConsent,
+  type TranscriptPolicy,
+} from "../lib/transcript-consent";
 
 // ── Types ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -155,6 +163,8 @@ interface ProbeReport {
    */
   skipped_policy_deny: number;
   skipped_policy_readonly: number;
+  /** Sessions a scoped consent (new@ cutoff, transcript_repos) kept out. */
+  scope: TranscriptScopeCounts;
   estimate_minutes: number;
 }
 
@@ -174,6 +184,8 @@ interface BulkResult {
   failed: number;
   duration_ms: number;
   partial_pages: number;
+  /** Sessions a scoped consent kept out, and transcript pages selected. */
+  scope?: TranscriptScopeCounts;
   /**
    * D6: when set, indicates a process-level failure (gbrain CLI missing
    * or `gbrain import` crashed). Per-file errors (FILE_TOO_LARGE etc.)
@@ -204,43 +216,39 @@ const ALL_TYPES: MemoryType[] = [
 
 // ── Transcript consent ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-export interface TranscriptConsent {
-  /** True only for a stored `recent` or `all`. */
-  affirmative: boolean;
-  /** Transcript walk window when affirmative: `recent` = last 90 days, `all` = all history. */
-  window: "recent" | "all" | null;
-  /**
-   * Normalized mode: the window when affirmative; otherwise why transcripts
-   * are skipped. `legacy` covers the old gate letters (A-E) and `incremental`,
-   * which predate the consent rule and need a new choice.
-   */
-  reason: "recent" | "all" | "off" | "not-set" | "legacy" | "unrecognized";
-  /** The stored value as read (null when the key is absent). */
-  value: string | null;
-}
+export type { TranscriptConsent } from "../lib/transcript-consent";
 
-let cachedConsent: TranscriptConsent | null = null;
+let cachedConsent: TranscriptPolicy | null = null;
 
 /**
- * Read `transcript_ingest_mode` once per process (same parse as
- * `gstack-config has` + `get`) and decide whether transcripts may be ingested.
- * Only `recent` and `all` are consent. An absent key, `off`, a legacy value
- * and anything unrecognized are not. Pass `env` to bypass the per-process cache.
+ * Read transcript consent once per process across every merged state root
+ * (lib/transcript-consent.ts). `recent`, `all` and `new@<time>` are consent;
+ * an absent key, `off`, a legacy value (A-E, incremental) and anything
+ * unrecognized are not. A cutoff or allowlist applies even under an explicit
+ * `--sources transcript`. Pass `env` to bypass the per-process cache.
  */
-export function normalizeTranscriptConsent(env?: StateRootEnv): TranscriptConsent {
+function readIngestConsent(env?: StateRootEnv): TranscriptPolicy {
   if (!env && cachedConsent) return cachedConsent;
-  const value = readConfigKeyWithRoot("transcript_ingest_mode", env ?? process.env).value;
-  const v = (value ?? "").trim().toLowerCase();
-  let consent: TranscriptConsent;
-  if (value === null) consent = { affirmative: false, window: null, reason: "not-set", value };
-  else if (v === "recent" || v === "all") consent = { affirmative: true, window: v, reason: v, value };
-  else if (v === "off") consent = { affirmative: false, window: null, reason: "off", value };
-  else if (/^[a-e]$/.test(v) || v === "incremental") consent = { affirmative: false, window: null, reason: "legacy", value };
-  else consent = { affirmative: false, window: null, reason: "unrecognized", value };
-  if (!env) cachedConsent = consent;
+  const policy = readTranscriptConsent(mergedStateRoots(env ?? process.env));
+  if (!env) cachedConsent = policy;
+  return policy;
+}
+
+/** The consent fields without the contributing roots. */
+export function normalizeTranscriptConsent(env?: StateRootEnv): TranscriptConsent {
+  const { roots: _roots, ...consent } = readIngestConsent(env);
   return consent;
 }
 
+/** Sessions a scoped consent kept out of this run, by reason. */
+export interface TranscriptScopeCounts {
+  pre_cutoff: number;
+  missing_start: number;
+  not_allowlisted: number;
+  /** Transcript pages this run selected for staging. */
+  sessions_selected: number;
+}
+
 // ── CLI ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 function printUsage(): void {
@@ -258,8 +266,10 @@ Options:
   --all-history        Walk transcripts older than 90 days too.
   --sources <list>     Comma-separated subset: ${ALL_TYPES.join(",")}
                        Default: every type, minus transcript unless
-                       transcript_ingest_mode is recent (90 days) or all
-                       (all history). A list naming transcript overrides it.
+                       transcript_ingest_mode is recent (90 days), all (all
+                       history) or new@<UTC> (sessions started after it).
+                       A list naming transcript overrides it; a new@ cutoff
+                       and transcript_repos still apply.
   --limit <N>          Stop after N pages written (smoke testing).
   --no-write           Skip gbrain put calls (still updates state file).
                        Used by tests + dry runs without actual ingest.
@@ -323,14 +333,15 @@ function parseArgs(): CliArgs {
     }
   }
 
-  const consent = normalizeTranscriptConsent();
+  const consent = readIngestConsent();
   if (!sourcesExplicit && !consent.affirmative) {
     sources.delete("transcript");
     if (!quiet) {
-      console.error(`gstack-memory-ingest: transcripts skipped (transcript_ingest_mode=${consent.value ?? "not set"}); set it to recent or all, or pass --sources transcript.`);
+      const why = consent.reason === "repos-unreadable" ? "; its +repos marker needs a transcript_repos allowlist" : "";
+      console.error(`gstack-memory-ingest: transcripts skipped (transcript_ingest_mode=${consent.value ?? "not set"}${why}); set it to recent, all or new@<UTC time>, or pass --sources transcript.`);
     }
   }
-  if (consent.window === "all") allHistory = true;
+  if (consent.affirmative && consent.window !== "recent") allHistory = true;
 
   return { mode, quiet, benchmark, includeUnattributed, allHistory, sources, limit, noWrite, scanSecrets };
 }
@@ -425,17 +436,45 @@ interface WalkContext {
   args: CliArgs;
   state: IngestState;
   windowStartMs: number; // ignore files older than this unless --all-history
+  consent: TranscriptConsent;
+  scope: TranscriptScopeCounts;
 }
 
-function makeWalkContext(args: CliArgs, state: IngestState): WalkContext {
+export function emptyScopeCounts(): TranscriptScopeCounts {
+  return { pre_cutoff: 0, missing_start: 0, not_allowlisted: 0, sessions_selected: 0 };
+}
+
+function makeWalkContext(args: CliArgs, state: IngestState, scope: TranscriptScopeCounts = emptyScopeCounts()): WalkContext {
   const ninetyDaysAgoMs = Date.now() - 90 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
   return {
     args,
     state,
     windowStartMs: args.allHistory ? 0 : ninetyDaysAgoMs,
+    consent: readIngestConsent(),
+    scope,
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * The `new@` cutoff, applied in both parsers' walks on each session's first
+ * record timestamp (read from the file prefix, never mtime): a session that
+ * started before the cutoff and was appended later stays out, and a session
+ * with no start timestamp is excluded (fail-closed).
+ */
+function sessionPassesCutoff(ctx: WalkContext, path: string): boolean {
+  const why = cutoffExclusion(ctx.consent, ctx.consent.cutoff === undefined ? null : transcriptPrefix(path).startedAt);
+  if (why === "pre-cutoff") ctx.scope.pre_cutoff++;
+  else if (why === "missing-start") ctx.scope.missing_start++;
+  return why === null;
+}
+
+/** The transcript_repos allowlist, applied after the attribution gate. */
+function sessionRepoAllowed(ctx: WalkContext, remote: string | undefined): boolean {
+  if (repoExclusion(ctx.consent, remote) === null) return true;
+  ctx.scope.not_allowlisted++;
+  return false;
+}
+
 function* walkClaudeCodeProjects(ctx: WalkContext): Generator<{ path: string; type: MemoryType }> {
   const root = join(HOME, ".claude", "projects");
   if (!existsSync(root)) return;
@@ -462,6 +501,7 @@ function* walkClaudeCodeProjects(ctx: WalkContext): Generator<{ path: string; ty
       } catch {
         continue;
       }
+      if (!sessionPassesCutoff(ctx, fullPath)) continue;
       yield { path: fullPath, type: "transcript" };
     }
   }
@@ -495,6 +535,7 @@ function* walkCodexSessions(ctx: WalkContext): Generator<{ path: string; type: M
     }
   }
   for (const path of recurse(root, 0)) {
+    if (!sessionPassesCutoff(ctx, path)) continue;
     yield { path, type: "transcript" };
   }
 }
@@ -801,6 +842,12 @@ function dateOnly(ts: string | undefined): string {
   }
 }
 
+/** A timestamp as ISO-8601 UTC, or "" when absent or unparseable. */
+function isoOrEmpty(ts: string | undefined): string {
+  const ms = ts ? Date.parse(ts) : NaN;
+  return Number.isFinite(ms) ? new Date(ms).toISOString() : "";
+}
+
 export function buildTranscriptPage(path: string, session: ParsedSession): PageRecord {
   const remote = resolveGitRemote(session.cwd);
   const slug_repo = repoSlug(remote);
@@ -826,6 +873,7 @@ export function buildTranscriptPage(path: string, session: ParsedSession): PageR
     `cwd: ${session.cwd || ""}`,
     `git_remote: ${remote || "_unattributed"}`,
     `start_time: ${session.start_time || ""}`,
+    `session_started_at: ${isoOrEmpty(session.start_time)}`,
     `end_time: ${session.end_time || ""}`,
     `message_count: ${session.message_count}`,
     `tool_calls: ${session.tool_calls}`,
@@ -1182,7 +1230,7 @@ export function readNewFailures(
 
 /**
  * The ONE attribution gate (#2394): a transcript is attributable iff its cwd
- * resolves to a git remote. Both probeMode (via transcriptCwdFromPrefix +
+ * resolves to a git remote. Both probeMode (via transcriptPrefix +
  * resolveGitRemote — the same memoized resolver) and preparePages route
  * through THIS logic, so the two stages' post-attribution counts are
  * structurally identical — the parity the probe report promises.
@@ -1218,10 +1266,15 @@ const TRANSCRIPT_PROBE_MAX_BYTES = 256 * 1024;
  *   - Claude Code cwd comes from the first record that carries one;
  *   - unparseable lines are skipped (the truncated-tail case included).
  *
+ * The session start (the `new@` cutoff input) follows the same rules: Codex
+ * takes the first record's timestamp (or payload.timestamp), Claude Code the
+ * first record that carries a timestamp. A start beyond the prefix reads as
+ * missing, which a cutoff treats as excluded.
+ *
  * Non-transcript types (artifacts) always pass — the attribution filter in
  * preparePages only applies to transcripts (#2394).
  */
-function transcriptCwdFromPrefix(path: string): string {
+export function transcriptPrefix(path: string): { cwd: string; startedAt: string } {
   // Chunked read until the prefix contains at least one COMPLETE record
   // (newline), up to the hard cap — a first record larger than one chunk
   // (giant pasted prompt) must not truncate mid-JSON and mis-classify a
@@ -1246,12 +1299,12 @@ function transcriptCwdFromPrefix(path: string): string {
       closeSync(fd);
     }
   } catch {
-    return "";
+    return { cwd: "", startedAt: "" };
   }
   const lines = raw.split("\n").filter((l) => l.trim().length > 0);
-  if (lines.length === 0) return "";
 
   let cwd = "";
+  let startedAt = "";
   let sawFirstParseable = false;
   for (const line of lines) {
     let rec: any;
@@ -1265,18 +1318,18 @@ function transcriptCwdFromPrefix(path: string): string {
       // Format detection mirrors parseTranscriptJsonl's `first` record check.
       const isCodex = rec?.type === "session_meta" || rec?.payload?.id != null;
       if (isCodex) {
-        // Codex: cwd comes from the session_meta FIRST record only.
+        // Codex: cwd and start come from the session_meta FIRST record only.
         cwd = rec.payload?.cwd || rec.cwd || "";
+        startedAt = rec.timestamp || rec.payload?.timestamp || "";
         break;
       }
     }
-    // Claude Code: first record with a cwd wins (the first record included).
-    if (rec?.cwd) {
-      cwd = rec.cwd;
-      break;
-    }
+    // Claude Code: the first record with a cwd and the first with a timestamp.
+    if (!cwd && rec?.cwd) cwd = rec.cwd;
+    if (!startedAt && rec?.timestamp) startedAt = rec.timestamp;
+    if (cwd && startedAt) break;
   }
-  return cwd;
+  return { cwd, startedAt: typeof startedAt === "string" ? startedAt : "" };
 }
 
 async function probeMode(args: CliArgs): Promise<ProbeReport> {
@@ -1314,12 +1367,13 @@ async function probeMode(args: CliArgs): Promise<ProbeReport> {
     // skip transcripts with no resolvable git remote unless --include-unattributed.
     let remote = "";
     if (type === "transcript") {
-      const cwd = transcriptCwdFromPrefix(path);
+      const { cwd } = transcriptPrefix(path);
       remote = cwd ? resolveGitRemote(cwd) : "";
       if (!args.includeUnattributed && remote === "") {
         skippedUnattributed++;
         continue;
       }
+      if (!sessionRepoAllowed(ctx, remote || "_unattributed")) continue;
     }
     candidates.push({ path, type, remote });
   }
@@ -1380,6 +1434,7 @@ async function probeMode(args: CliArgs): Promise<ProbeReport> {
     skipped_unattributed: skippedUnattributed,
     skipped_policy_deny: skippedPolicyDeny,
     skipped_policy_readonly: skippedPolicyReadonly,
+    scope: ctx.scope,
     estimate_minutes: estimateMinutes,
   };
 }
@@ -1544,6 +1599,7 @@ function preparePages(
           continue;
         }
         page = buildTranscriptPage(path, session);
+        if (!sessionRepoAllowed(ctx, page.git_remote)) continue;
       } else {
         page = buildArtifactPage(path, type, raw);
       }
@@ -1663,6 +1719,7 @@ function preparePages(
   // whole batch every run (#2724: 887 staged → 0 ingested). Disambiguate
   // before staging, consulting state so assignments hold across runs.
   disambiguateSlugs(finalPrepared, state);
+  ctx.scope.sessions_selected = finalPrepared.filter((p) => p.type === "transcript").length;
 
   // Derived from the FINAL set: partial counts must describe pages that are
   // actually eligible and within the limit, not the whole scanned corpus.
@@ -2015,9 +2072,20 @@ function runGbrainImportOnce(
 }
 
 async function ingestPass(args: CliArgs): Promise<BulkResult> {
+  // Tightening a scoped consent removes unpublished staged pages outside it and
+  // their fingerprints, BEFORE the state loads, so a later widening re-stages.
+  if (!args.noWrite) {
+    const purged = purgeStagedTranscripts(GSTACK_HOME, readIngestConsent());
+    if (purged > 0) console.error(`[memory-ingest] removed ${purged} staged transcript pages outside the new scope`);
+  }
+  const scope = emptyScopeCounts();
+  return { ...(await ingestPassScoped(args, scope)), scope };
+}
+
+async function ingestPassScoped(args: CliArgs, scope: TranscriptScopeCounts): Promise<BulkResult> {
   const t0 = Date.now();
   const state = loadState();
-  const ctx = makeWalkContext(args, state);
+  const ctx = makeWalkContext(args, state, scope);
   const remoteHttpMode = isRemoteHttpMcpMode();
   const resumeDir = process.env.GSTACK_INGEST_RESUME_DIR;
   const resuming = !args.noWrite && !remoteHttpMode
@@ -2651,6 +2719,7 @@ function printProbeReport(r: ProbeReport, json: boolean): void {
   if (r.skipped_policy_readonly > 0) {
     console.log(`Skipped (policy read-only): ${r.skipped_policy_readonly}  (remote tier is read-only; transcript ingest writes pages)`);
   }
+  for (const line of scopeLines(r.scope)) console.log(line);
   console.log("By type:");
   for (const [t, v] of Object.entries(r.by_type)) {
     if (v.count > 0) {
@@ -2660,6 +2729,26 @@ function printProbeReport(r: ProbeReport, json: boolean): void {
   console.log(`\nEstimate: ~${r.estimate_minutes} min for full --bulk pass.`);
 }
 
+/** Exclusion counts by reason; nothing when consent has no cutoff or allowlist. */
+function scopeLines(scope: TranscriptScopeCounts | undefined, indent = ""): string[] {
+  if (!scope) return [];
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  if (scope.pre_cutoff > 0) lines.push(`${indent}Excluded (pre-cutoff):     ${scope.pre_cutoff}  (session started before the new@ cutoff)`);
+  if (scope.missing_start > 0) lines.push(`${indent}Excluded (missing start):  ${scope.missing_start}  (no start timestamp; excluded under new@)`);
+  if (scope.not_allowlisted > 0) lines.push(`${indent}Excluded (not allowlisted): ${scope.not_allowlisted}  (repo not in transcript_repos)`);
+  return lines;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Under a new@ cutoff, a run that selects no session says so, so "nothing
+ * happened" reads as expected rather than broken.
+ */
+function zeroSessionsNotice(r: BulkResult, args: CliArgs): string | null {
+  const consent = readIngestConsent();
+  if (!consent.cutoff || !args.sources.has("transcript") || !r.scope || r.scope.sessions_selected > 0) return null;
+  return `[memory-ingest] 0 transcript sessions ingested under new@${consent.cutoff}: ${r.scope.pre_cutoff} started before the cutoff; new sessions will appear on the next sync`;
+}
+
 function printBulkResult(r: BulkResult, args: CliArgs): void {
   console.log(`\nIngest pass complete (${args.mode}):`);
   console.log(`  written:               ${r.written}`);
@@ -2673,6 +2762,7 @@ function printBulkResult(r: BulkResult, args: CliArgs): void {
   if (r.skipped_policy_deny > 0) {
     console.log(`  skipped (policy deny):      ${r.skipped_policy_deny}  (change with: gstack-gbrain-repo-policy set <remote> read-write)`);
   }
+  for (const line of scopeLines(r.scope, "  ")) console.log(line);
   console.log(`  failed:                ${r.failed}`);
   console.log(`  duration:              ${(r.duration_ms / 1000).toFixed(1)}s`);
   if (args.benchmark) {
@@ -2706,6 +2796,8 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
     if (result.written > 0 || result.failed > 0) {
       console.error(`[memory-ingest] ${result.written} written, ${result.failed} failed in ${dt}ms`);
     }
+    const zero = zeroSessionsNotice(result, args);
+    if (zero) console.error(zero);
     // D6: system_error → process-level failure; orchestrator sees ERR.
     // Per-file errors do NOT exit non-zero.
     if (result.system_error) process.exit(1);
@@ -2714,6 +2806,8 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
 
   const result = await ingestPass(args);
   printBulkResult(result, args);
+  const zero = zeroSessionsNotice(result, args);
+  if (zero) console.error(zero);
   if (result.system_error) process.exit(1);
 }
 
diff --git a/test/transcript-scope-ingest.test.ts b/test/transcript-scope-ingest.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c96770363
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/transcript-scope-ingest.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,258 @@
+/**
+ * Scoped transcript consent in the memory ingest and the sync orchestrator:
+ * the new@ cutoff on each session's first record (both parsers), the
+ * transcript_repos allowlist after the attribution gate, exclusion counts by
+ * reason, explicit overrides that never widen a scoped consent, the consent
+ * record that restages on a scope change, and the regression contract that
+ * `recent` selects exactly the sessions it did before (file mtime, 90 days).
+ * Runs the real ingest and orchestrator against a stub gbrain.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { chmodSync, existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, utimesSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'os';
+import { join } from 'path';
+import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
+
+import { transcriptConsentRecord, transcriptConsentSummary } from '../bin/gstack-gbrain-sync';
+import { reposHash } from '../lib/transcript-consent';
+
+const ROOT = join(import.meta.dir, '..');
+const INGEST = join(ROOT, 'bin', 'gstack-memory-ingest.ts');
+const SYNC = join(ROOT, 'bin', 'gstack-gbrain-sync.ts');
+const DAY = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+const iso = (ms: number) => new Date(ms).toISOString().replace(/\.\d{3}Z$/, 'Z');
+
+interface Box {
+  home: string;
+  gstackHome: string;
+  env: Record<string, string>;
+  repo: (slug: string) => string;
+  claude: (id: string, opts: { cwd: string; start?: string; mtimeMs?: number; appendNow?: boolean }) => string;
+  codex: (id: string, opts: { cwd: string; start: string }) => string;
+  staged: () => string[];
+  cleanup: () => void;
+}
+
+function box(config: string): Box {
+  const home = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-tscope-'));
+  const gstackHome = join(home, '.gstack');
+  const bindir = join(home, 'bin');
+  const stagedList = join(home, 'staged.list');
+  for (const d of [gstackHome, bindir, join(home, '.gbrain'), join(home, '.claude', 'projects', 'p')]) mkdirSync(d, { recursive: true });
+  writeFileSync(join(gstackHome, 'config.yaml'), config);
+  writeFileSync(join(home, '.gbrain', 'config.json'), JSON.stringify({ engine: 'pglite', database_url: 'pglite:///test' }));
+  writeFileSync(join(bindir, 'gbrain'), `#!/bin/sh
+case "$1" in
+  --version) echo "gbrain 0.60.28.0" ;;
+  --help) printf 'Commands:\\n  import <dir>   Import markdown directory\\n' ;;
+  sources) echo '{"sources":[]}' ;;
+  import)
+    ( cd "$2" && find . -name '*.md' -type f | sort ) > "${stagedList}"
+    n=$(wc -l < "${stagedList}" | tr -d ' ')
+    echo "{\\"status\\":\\"success\\",\\"imported\\":$n,\\"skipped\\":0,\\"errors\\":0,\\"total_files\\":$n}" ;;
+  *) echo "unexpected gbrain $*" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+esac
+`);
+  chmodSync(join(bindir, 'gbrain'), 0o755);
+  const env = {
+    HOME: home,
+    GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome,
+    GBRAIN_HOME: '',
+    GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_SOURCES: '',
+    GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM: '1',
+    GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL: join(home, '.gitconfig'),
+    PATH: `${bindir}:${process.env.PATH || ''}`,
+  };
+  const line = (rec: Record<string, unknown>) => JSON.stringify(rec) + '\n';
+  return {
+    home,
+    gstackHome,
+    env,
+    repo: (slug) => {
+      const dir = join(home, 'work', slug.replace('/', '-'));
+      mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+      spawnSync('git', ['-C', dir, 'init', '-q'], { timeout: 30_000 });
+      spawnSync('git', ['-C', dir, 'remote', 'add', 'origin', `https://github.com/${slug}.git`], { timeout: 30_000 });
+      return dir;
+    },
+    claude: (id, { cwd, start, mtimeMs, appendNow }) => {
+      const path = join(home, '.claude', 'projects', 'p', `${id}.jsonl`);
+      const ts = start ? { timestamp: start } : {};
+      writeFileSync(path, line({ type: 'user', message: { role: 'user', content: `hello ${id}` }, cwd, ...ts }) + line({ type: 'assistant', message: { role: 'assistant', content: 'ok' }, ...ts }));
+      if (appendNow) writeFileSync(path, readFileSync(path, 'utf-8') + line({ type: 'user', message: { role: 'user', content: 'later' }, timestamp: iso(Date.now()) }));
+      if (mtimeMs !== undefined) utimesSync(path, new Date(mtimeMs), new Date(mtimeMs));
+      return path;
+    },
+    codex: (id, { cwd, start }) => {
+      const dir = join(home, '.codex', 'sessions', '2026', '10', '01');
+      mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+      const path = join(dir, `rollout-${id}.jsonl`);
+      writeFileSync(path, line({ type: 'session_meta', timestamp: start, payload: { id, cwd } }) + line({ type: 'response_item', timestamp: start, payload: { type: 'message', role: 'user', content: [{ type: 'input_text', text: `hi ${id}` }] } }));
+      return path;
+    },
+    staged: () => (existsSync(stagedList) ? readFileSync(stagedList, 'utf-8').split('\n').filter((l) => l.includes('transcripts/')) : []),
+    cleanup: () => rmSync(home, { recursive: true, force: true }),
+  };
+}
+
+const ingest = (b: Box, args: string[], env: Record<string, string> = {}) =>
+  spawnSync('bun', [INGEST, ...args], { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 60_000, cwd: b.home, env: { ...process.env, ...b.env, ...env } });
+const sync = (b: Box, args: string[], env: Record<string, string> = {}) =>
+  spawnSync('bun', [SYNC, '--no-code', '--no-brain-sync', ...args], { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 60_000, cwd: b.home, env: { ...process.env, ...b.env, ...env } });
+
+describe.skipIf(process.platform === 'win32')('new@ cutoff', () => {
+  test('both parsers filter on the first record timestamp; appended pre-cutoff and start-less sessions stay out', () => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    const b = box(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${iso(now - DAY)}\n`);
+    try {
+      const app = b.repo('acme/app');
+      b.claude('preappend0001', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - 2 * DAY), appendNow: true });
+      b.claude('postcutoff001', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - 60_000) });
+      b.claude('nostart000001', { cwd: app });
+      b.codex('codexold00001', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - 3 * DAY) });
+      b.codex('codexnew00001', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - 60_000) });
+
+      const probe = ingest(b, ['--probe']);
+      expect(probe.status).toBe(0);
+      expect(probe.stdout).toContain('Total files in window: 2');
+      expect(probe.stdout).toMatch(/Excluded \(pre-cutoff\):\s+2/);
+      expect(probe.stdout).toMatch(/Excluded \(missing start\):\s+1/);
+
+      const bulk = ingest(b, ['--bulk', '--quiet']);
+      expect(bulk.status).toBe(0);
+      const staged = b.staged().join('\n');
+      expect(staged).toMatch(/postcutoff00/);
+      expect(staged).toMatch(/codexnew0000/);
+      expect(staged).not.toMatch(/preappend000|nostart00000|codexold0000/);
+      const page = readFileSync(join(b.gstackHome, '.transcript-ingest-state.json'), 'utf-8');
+      expect(page).not.toContain('preappend0001');
+    } finally {
+      b.cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('a run that ingests no session says so, with the pre-cutoff count', () => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    const b = box(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${iso(now - DAY)}\n`);
+    try {
+      b.claude('preappend0001', { cwd: b.repo('acme/app'), start: iso(now - 2 * DAY), appendNow: true });
+      const r = ingest(b, ['--bulk', '--quiet']);
+      expect(r.status).toBe(0);
+      expect(r.stderr).toContain(`[memory-ingest] 0 transcript sessions ingested under new@${iso(now - DAY)}: 1 started before the cutoff; new sessions will appear on the next sync`);
+    } finally {
+      b.cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe.skipIf(process.platform === 'win32')('transcript_repos allowlist', () => {
+  test('only allowlisted repos ingest, after the attribution gate, with the exclusion counted', () => {
+    const b = box('transcript_ingest_mode: all+repos\ntranscript_repos: github.com/acme/app\n');
+    try {
+      b.claude('appsession001', { cwd: b.repo('acme/app'), start: iso(Date.now()) });
+      b.claude('websession001', { cwd: b.repo('acme/web'), start: iso(Date.now()) });
+      b.codex('codexweb00001', { cwd: join(b.home, 'work', 'acme-web'), start: iso(Date.now()) });
+      const probe = ingest(b, ['--probe']);
+      expect(probe.stdout).toContain('Total files in window: 1');
+      expect(probe.stdout).toMatch(/Excluded \(not allowlisted\):\s+2/);
+      ingest(b, ['--bulk', '--quiet']);
+      expect(b.staged().join('\n')).toMatch(/appsession00/);
+      expect(b.staged().join('\n')).not.toMatch(/websession00|codexweb0000/);
+    } finally {
+      b.cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe.skipIf(process.platform === 'win32')('explicit overrides never widen a scoped consent', () => {
+  for (const [args, env, why] of [
+    [['--sources', 'transcript,learning'], {}, '--sources'],
+    [[], { GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_SOURCES: 'transcript' }, 'GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_SOURCES'],
+  ] as const) {
+    test(`${why}: the cutoff still applies under consent, and a broken allowlist still denies`, () => {
+      const now = Date.now();
+      const b = box(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${iso(now - DAY)}\n`);
+      try {
+        const app = b.repo('acme/app');
+        b.claude('preappend0001', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - 2 * DAY), appendNow: true });
+        b.claude('postcutoff001', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - 60_000) });
+        const scoped = sync(b, ['--incremental', '--quiet', ...args], { ...env });
+        expect(scoped.status).toBe(0);
+        expect(b.staged().join('\n')).toMatch(/postcutoff00/);
+        expect(b.staged().join('\n')).not.toMatch(/preappend000/);
+
+        writeFileSync(join(b.gstackHome, 'config.yaml'), 'transcript_ingest_mode: recent+repos\n');
+        rmSync(join(b.gstackHome, '.transcript-ingest-state.json'), { force: true });
+        rmSync(join(b.home, 'staged.list'), { force: true });
+        const denied = sync(b, ['--incremental', '--quiet', ...args], { ...env });
+        expect(denied.status).toBe(0);
+        expect(b.staged()).toEqual([]);
+        expect(denied.stderr).toContain(`gbrain-sync: transcripts ingested because ${why} names transcript (transcript_ingest_mode=recent+repos). The new@ cutoff and transcript_repos allowlist still apply.`);
+      } finally {
+        b.cleanup();
+      }
+    });
+  }
+});
+
+describe.skipIf(process.platform === 'win32')('consent record and notice', () => {
+  test('the stage record carries the cutoff and allowlist hash; unscoped records are unchanged', () => {
+    const cutoff = '2026-10-03T17:00:00Z';
+    expect(transcriptConsentRecord({ affirmative: true, window: 'recent', reason: 'recent', value: 'recent' }, false)).toEqual({ mode: 'recent', window: 'recent' });
+    expect(transcriptConsentRecord({ affirmative: true, window: 'new', reason: 'new', value: `new@${cutoff}+repos`, cutoff, repos: ['github.com/a/b'] }, false))
+      .toEqual({ mode: 'new', window: 'new', cutoff, repos_hash: reposHash(['github.com/a/b']) });
+  });
+
+  test('the consent notice prints the effective consent in words, unless --quiet', () => {
+    const p = { affirmative: true, window: 'recent' as const, reason: 'recent' as const, value: 'recent+repos', repos: ['github.com/a/b'], roots: ['/s'] };
+    expect(transcriptConsentSummary(p, false)).toBe('gbrain-sync: transcripts: sessions from the last 90 days; repo github.com/a/b; config: /s');
+    expect(transcriptConsentSummary(p, true)).toBeNull();
+    expect(transcriptConsentSummary({ ...p, affirmative: false, reason: 'off' }, false)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('a changed cutoff restages an interrupted import', () => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    const b = box(`transcript_ingest_mode: new@${iso(now - DAY)}\n`);
+    try {
+      const stagingDir = join(b.gstackHome, '.staging-ingest-1-1');
+      mkdirSync(join(stagingDir, 'projects'), { recursive: true });
+      writeFileSync(join(stagingDir, '.gstack-staging'), '');
+      writeFileSync(join(stagingDir, 'projects', 'stale-page.md'), '# stale\n');
+      writeFileSync(join(b.home, '.gbrain', 'import-checkpoint.json'), JSON.stringify({ dir: stagingDir, processedIndex: 0, totalFiles: 1 }));
+      const { MEMORY_INGEST_TYPES } = require('../bin/gstack-gbrain-sync');
+      writeFileSync(join(b.gstackHome, '.gbrain-sync-state.json'), JSON.stringify({
+        schema_version: 1,
+        last_writer: 'gstack-gbrain-sync',
+        last_stages: [{ name: 'memory', ran: true, ok: false, duration_ms: 1, summary: 'timeout', memory_sources: [...MEMORY_INGEST_TYPES], transcript_consent: { mode: 'new', window: 'new', cutoff: iso(now - 2 * DAY) } }],
+      }));
+      const r = sync(b, ['--incremental', '--quiet']);
+      expect(r.stderr).toContain('gbrain-sync: transcript consent changed since the interrupted import');
+      expect(r.stderr).not.toContain('resuming from gbrain checkpoint');
+    } finally {
+      b.cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe.skipIf(process.platform === 'win32')('regression contract: recent selects the same sessions as before', () => {
+  test('recent keeps the 90-day file-mtime window, whatever the session start', () => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    const b = box('transcript_ingest_mode: recent\n');
+    try {
+      const app = b.repo('acme/app');
+      b.claude('mtimenowold1', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - 200 * DAY) });
+      b.claude('mtimeoldnew1', { cwd: app, start: iso(now), mtimeMs: now - 200 * DAY });
+      b.claude('bothrecent01', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - DAY) });
+      b.claude('botholdxxxx1', { cwd: app, start: iso(now - 200 * DAY), mtimeMs: now - 200 * DAY });
+      b.claude('nostampsxxx1', { cwd: app });
+      const r = ingest(b, ['--bulk', '--quiet']);
+      expect(r.status).toBe(0);
+      const ids = b.staged().map((l) => l.replace(/^.*-([a-z0-9]{12})\.md$/, '$1')).sort();
+      expect(ids).toEqual(['bothrecent01', 'mtimenowold1', 'nostampsxxx1']);
+      const probe = ingest(b, ['--probe']);
+      expect(probe.stdout).not.toContain('Excluded');
+    } finally {
+      b.cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+});