diff --git a/.claude/rules/gates.md b/.claude/rules/gates.md
index b71a0f8..2786793 100644
--- a/.claude/rules/gates.md
+++ b/.claude/rules/gates.md
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ exiting non-zero if any fails.
 - **The pre-push hook** (`.githooks/pre-push`) runs it with `--fast` and refuses a failing push. It is
   per-clone — switch it on once with `git config core.hooksPath .githooks`, and a manual run WARNS
   when this clone is unarmed. `git push --no-verify` bypasses it deliberately; **say so in the session
-  report when you use it.** Both facts are why CI is still owed (`OPEN-ITEMS.md` R-168).
+  report when you use it** — CI re-runs the same entry point on every push and **emails the operator
+  on failure**, so a bypass is noticed even though it is not blocked (R-168, CLOSED 2026-08-02).
 
 <!--
 WHY A RUNNER AND NOT SEVEN INVOCATIONS (2026-08-02, R-29) — rationale, not a directive.
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fb6bb64..fe35fcc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,15 @@
+## docs — the "CI is still owed" claim was stale; corrected (2026-08-06, R-229 part 2) — no version bump
+
+**One sentence, no code.** This file asserted that continuous integration was still owed
+(`felhom.eu` `OPEN-ITEMS.md` R-168). **R-168 was CLOSED on 2026-08-02** — a Gitea Actions runner
+re-runs each repo's gate entry point on every push and emails the operator on failure. Found while
+confirming this session's own push by run ID, which is the check that caught it.
+
+The same stale sentence was in four instruction files across all four repos and is corrected in all
+four. In `felhom-agent/CLAUDE.md` it **contradicted the same file's release section**, which already
+said R-168 mails the failure — a contradiction inside one instruction file, which is the exact class
+the R-229 work exists to find.
+
 ## docs — CLAUDE.md split into a core plus path-scoped rules (2026-08-06, R-229) — no version bump
 
 **Documentation and gate registration only. No Go changed, no image built, no deploy.**