diff --git a/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/GRILL.md b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/GRILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7394f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/GRILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# GRILL — strict-frontmatter-fence
+
+Plan: `.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/PLAN.md` · spec-hash `bca940a5…d729d3c4e` matches live
+`ARCHITECTURE.md`. Registered grillers: `{"registered":0,"grillers":[]}` → inline axes only.
+
+## Findings
+
+```yaml
+- type: FINDING
+  rule_id: 'P5'
+  severity: important
+  file: '.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/PLAN.md:5'
+  problem: 'Keep line-ending acceptance exactly as today (LF fence only). Silently widening to CRLF would change which upstream files install, beyond this finding.'
+  evidence: '`the first line is exactly ---`'
+- type: FINDING
+  rule_id: 'P5'
+  severity: minor
+  file: '.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/PLAN.md:7'
+  problem: 'Count duplicates by the same anchored key match that reads the value (`^role:`), so an indented or prefixed look-alike (`roles:`, `  role:`) is neither a duplicate nor a value — unchanged from today.'
+  evidence: '`a role or applies key that appears more than once`'
+- type: FINDING
+  rule_id: 'P1'
+  severity: minor
+  file: '.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/PLAN.md:30'
+  problem: 'The empty-frontmatter eval must put a VALID role/applies in the body, or it passes on the base source for the wrong reason (missing field).'
+  evidence: '`empty frontmatter → unknown (not a body read)`'
+```
+
+ADVISORY VERDICT: 3 concerns raised (0 blocking-severity, 3 advisory) — all folded into the build.
diff --git a/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/PLAN.md b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/PLAN.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7bff1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/PLAN.md
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# PLAN — strict-frontmatter-fence (PHARN-14: the capability frontmatter reader must not disagree with upstream's validator)
+
+- spec_content_hash: bca940a5ad247c120e6d8a3acba119d0d8df51dca275964d0e54c48d729d3c4e # fix #4
+- increment: `parseCapabilityIndex` reads the frontmatter FENCE line by line (the first line is exactly
+  `---`, the block ends at the next line that is exactly `---`), so an empty frontmatter (`---\n---`)
+  yields an empty block instead of reading `role`/`applies` out of the document body; and a
+  `role` or `applies` key that appears more than once is a `ManifestValidationError` (the capability
+  becomes `unknown` — named, never installed) instead of silently taking the FIRST occurrence while
+  upstream's validator takes the LAST.
+- layer(s): the CLI itself (`src/lib/capability-index.ts`, the untrusted-frontmatter fetch boundary)
+- constitution_refs: [P1, P2, P5]
+
+## Discovery — verified this run (P6)
+
+`extractFrontmatter` uses `/^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---/`: for `---\n---\nrole: lens\n---` the lazy capture
+starts at the second `---` and runs to the third, so body lines are read as frontmatter.
+`readField` uses a multiline `^field:` regex whose first match wins; pharn-oss's floor validator keeps
+the last. Same file, two different `applies` → a capability can install with an applicability the
+upstream gate never checked. Callers: only `role` and `applies` are read (`capability-index.ts:132-139`).
+
+## Files
+
+- `src/lib/capability-index.ts` — line-based fence; `readField` rejects a duplicated key — layer CLI/lib
+- `tests/capability-index.test.ts` — empty frontmatter → unknown (not a body read); duplicated `role` /
+  `applies` → unknown naming the field; unterminated fence → unknown; the valid fixtures still parse
+
+## Contracts satisfied
+
+- CLAUDE.md "strict field reader" at the fetch boundary — now unambiguous: one value or refusal.
+
+## Evals to write (P1)
+
+- listed above; the empty-frontmatter and duplicate cases fail on the base source.
+
+## Guarantee audit (P0)
+
+- "a capability's role/applies is the single value in its fenced block" → floor: exact-line fence
+  match + occurrence count == 1.
+
+## Trust audit (P2)
+
+- Input is untrusted clone content; the change only narrows what is accepted. A refused capability
+  lands in `unknown` (named warning; an installed one is KEPT, see PHARN-13).
+
+## Determinism audit (P5)
+
+- Pure string processing; no ordering dependence.
+
+## Open questions (HALT)
+
+- none
diff --git a/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/REGRESSION.md b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/REGRESSION.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e9c9f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/REGRESSION.md
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# REGRESSION — strict-frontmatter-fence
+
+The verdict below is computed by `.dev/floor/check-regress.mjs`, not by this stage's judgment.
+
+## Base and partition
+
+- **base:** `aec6d3e7e8c49bf18f2e7e7bca66a01596076367` (`origin/main` at build time; the build is an uncommitted working tree on top of it).
+- **inside** (each declared in `PLAN.md` `## Files`): `src/lib/capability-index.ts`, `tests/capability-index.test.ts`.
+- **scope partition:** `check-regress.mjs scope` exited **0**, `escaped: []`. `.pharn/` (hook scratch) and this
+  feature's own stage artifacts are not build output.
+- **outside gates:** the stdlib `*.test.mjs` / `*.test.cjs` files + whole-repo `validate`; 0 committed eval pairs.
+- **style-gate skip:** `inside` touches no shared style config, so `lint` / `format:check` / `lint:md` are absent from both maps.
+
+## Per-gate exit codes
+
+| gate       | base | head | flipped? |
+| ---------- | ---- | ---- | -------- |
+| `tests`    | 0    | 0    | no       |
+| `validate` | 0    | 0    | no       |
+
+- `regressions[]`: **empty**
+- `pre_existing[]`: **empty**
+
+## Verdict
+
+**REGRESSIONS: none — no deterministically-detectable breakage outside the feature.**
+(`regression-report.json` `.verdict` = `no-regressions`.)
+
+Residual (P0/P7): this catches exactly what its suite catches. The vitest suite exercising `src/**` is
+owned by `/pharn-dev-build`'s floor and `/pharn-dev-verify`. This certifies the comparison, never the increment.
diff --git a/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/REVIEW.md b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/REVIEW.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f57ce89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/REVIEW.md
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# REVIEW — strict-frontmatter-fence
+
+Floor first: `node .dev/floor/validate.mjs .` → exit 0 (GREEN). Everything below is **advisory**.
+
+## Floor-gate findings (blocking)
+
+None.
+
+- **L-floor (P0):** a value is read only when its anchored key occurs exactly once inside a fence whose
+  first line is exactly `---` and whose end is the next `---` line; otherwise `ManifestValidationError`.
+- **L-eval (P1):** the empty-block and both duplicate cases fail on the base source; the empty-block body
+  carries a VALID role/applies so it cannot pass for the wrong reason (grill #3). A positive case pins
+  trailing blanks on the close and that look-alike keys (`roles:`, indented `applies:`) stay ignored (grill #2).
+- **L-trust (P2):** only narrows what the untrusted clone may declare; every refusal lands in `unknown`,
+  named, never installed (an installed one is KEPT and re-checked, PHARN-13).
+- **L-axis (P3):** contained in `capability-index.ts`.
+
+## Advisory findings
+
+```yaml
+- type: FINDING
+  rule_id: 'P5'
+  severity: minor
+  file: 'src/lib/capability-index.ts:233'
+  problem: 'The close is now an exact `---` line (plus trailing blanks); the old regex also closed on `----` or `---x`. No upstream file uses those shapes today, but a future one would be reported unknown rather than parsed.'
+  evidence: "const close = lines.findIndex((line, i) => i > 0 && /^---[ \\t]*$/.test(line));"
+- type: FINDING
+  rule_id: 'P4'
+  severity: minor
+  file: 'CHANGELOG.md:8'
+  problem: "No CHANGELOG `[Unreleased]` entry (not in the plan's `## Files`)."
+  evidence: '## [Unreleased]'
+```
+
+## Verdict
+
+**GREEN** — 0 floor-gate findings, 2 advisory findings. No lesson proposed for canon.
diff --git a/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/SHIP.md b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/SHIP.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1100da9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/SHIP.md
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# SHIP — strict-frontmatter-fence
+
+Stages run, in order: `/pharn-dev-plan` → GATE 1 (human: **Approve as written**) → `/pharn-dev-grill` →
+`/pharn-dev-build` → `/pharn-dev-regress` → `/pharn-dev-verify` → `/pharn-dev-review` → GATE 2.
+
+| stage                | structural verdict (verbatim)                          |
+| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `/pharn-dev-build`   | `node .dev/floor/validate.mjs .` exit `0`              |
+| `/pharn-dev-regress` | `regression-report.json` `.verdict` = `no-regressions` |
+| `/pharn-dev-verify`  | `verify-report.json` `.verdict` = `PASS`               |
+
+- Review: [`REVIEW.md`](REVIEW.md) · Grill (advisory): [`GRILL.md`](GRILL.md)
+- Run ended at **GATE 2**. The human's standing instruction for this batch: open a PR and merge it only if
+  its CI checks are green.
+
+chain ran; the named floor verdicts are as shown — this is NOT a judgment that the increment is good or
+wise; that is the human's call at the post-review gate.
diff --git a/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/VERIFY.md b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/VERIFY.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d36d457
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/VERIFY.md
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# VERIFY — strict-frontmatter-fence
+
+## FLOOR layer (owns the verdict)
+
+Gates run over the whole repo with the feature present, as a non-root user on node 22 with the session
+proxy variables unset (as root with the proxy set, 5 pre-existing tests in `init.test.ts` /
+`update.test.ts` fail for environmental reasons, identically at the baseline).
+
+| gate           | exit |
+| -------------- | ---- |
+| `format:check` | 0    |
+| `lint`         | 0    |
+| `lint:md`      | 0    |
+| `test`         | 0    |
+| `typecheck`    | 0    |
+| `validate`     | 0    |
+
+No `structural:*` gate — the increment ships no eval-actual pair.
+
+**VERDICT: PASS** (`.dev/floor/check-verify.mjs`, `failing_gates: []`).
+
+## ADVISORY layer
+
+`node .dev/floor/count-verifiers.mjs .` → `{"registered":0,"verifiers":[]}` — floor gates only.
+
+Residual (P0/P7): "verified" means the named gates passed — not that the feature is correct in any sense
+the suite does not encode.
diff --git a/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/regression-report.json b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/regression-report.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d91c2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/regression-report.json
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{
+  "base": "aec6d3e7e8c49bf18f2e7e7bca66a01596076367",
+  "inside": [
+    "src/lib/capability-index.ts",
+    "tests/capability-index.test.ts"
+  ],
+  "outside_gates": {
+    "tests": {
+      "base": 0,
+      "head": 0
+    },
+    "validate": {
+      "base": 0,
+      "head": 0
+    }
+  },
+  "regressions": [],
+  "pre_existing": [],
+  "verdict": "no-regressions"
+}
diff --git a/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/verify-report.json b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/verify-report.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d36b2cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/verify-report.json
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{
+  "feature": "strict-frontmatter-fence",
+  "gates": {
+    "format:check": 0,
+    "lint": 0,
+    "lint:md": 0,
+    "test": 0,
+    "typecheck": 0,
+    "validate": 0
+  },
+  "verdict": "PASS",
+  "failing_gates": [],
+  "verifiers": {
+    "registered": 0,
+    "findings": []
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.pharn/writes-scope.json b/.pharn/writes-scope.json
index e7162a7..b769d55 100644
--- a/.pharn/writes-scope.json
+++ b/.pharn/writes-scope.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "scope": [
-    ".dev/features/frozen-capability-recheck/SHIP.md"
+    ".dev/features/strict-frontmatter-fence/SHIP.md"
   ],
   "set_by": ".claude/commands/pharn-dev-ship.md",
-  "set_at": "2026-09-24T09:52:10.070Z"
+  "set_at": "2026-09-24T09:55:43.509Z"
 }
diff --git a/src/lib/capability-index.ts b/src/lib/capability-index.ts
index 8e66557..0981076 100644
--- a/src/lib/capability-index.ts
+++ b/src/lib/capability-index.ts
@@ -223,31 +223,45 @@ function readCapabilityMarkdown(
  * file. Only this block is parsed — a field-looking line in the prose body is
  * never read. Hard-fails (naming the capability) when no frontmatter fence is
  * present (P5).
+ *
+ * Line-based, not a lazy regex: the block opens on a first line that is exactly
+ * `---` and ends at the NEXT line that is `---` (trailing blanks allowed). A
+ * regex capture (`^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---`) skips an empty block (`---\n---`)
+ * and reads the document BODY as frontmatter, up to the next `---`.
  */
 function extractFrontmatter(content: string, name: string): string {
-  const match = /^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---/.exec(content);
-  if (!match) {
+  const lines = content.split('\n');
+  const close = lines.findIndex((line, i) => i > 0 && /^---[ \t]*$/.test(line));
+  if (lines[0] !== '---' || close === -1) {
     throw new ManifestValidationError(
       `Capability "${name}" is missing a "---"-fenced frontmatter block.`,
     );
   }
-  return match[1]!;
+  return lines.slice(1, close).join('\n');
 }
 
 /**
  * Read a single required scalar field from the frontmatter block, returning its
  * raw (quote-stripped) value. Hard-fails (naming the capability + field) when
- * the field is absent (P5). A strict per-field regex — not a YAML parser.
+ * the field is absent OR appears more than once (P5): pharn-oss's validator
+ * keeps the LAST occurrence while a first-match reader keeps the FIRST, so a
+ * duplicate is the one shape where the two could install different values. A
+ * strict per-field regex — not a YAML parser.
  */
 function readField(frontmatter: string, field: string, name: string): string {
-  const re = new RegExp(`^${field}:[ \\t]*(.+?)[ \\t]*$`, 'm');
-  const match = re.exec(frontmatter);
-  if (!match) {
+  const re = new RegExp(`^${field}:[ \\t]*(.+?)[ \\t]*$`, 'gm');
+  const matches = [...frontmatter.matchAll(re)];
+  if (matches.length === 0) {
     throw new ManifestValidationError(
       `Capability "${name}" is missing the "${field}" frontmatter field.`,
     );
   }
-  return stripQuotes(match[1]!);
+  if (matches.length > 1) {
+    throw new ManifestValidationError(
+      `Capability "${name}" declares the "${field}" frontmatter field ${matches.length} times.`,
+    );
+  }
+  return stripQuotes(matches[0]![1]!);
 }
 
 function stripQuotes(value: string): string {
diff --git a/tests/capability-index.test.ts b/tests/capability-index.test.ts
index 1e4dbc0..02bbb65 100644
--- a/tests/capability-index.test.ts
+++ b/tests/capability-index.test.ts
@@ -143,6 +143,22 @@ describe('parseCapabilityIndex', () => {
     expect(entry!.applies).toEqual(['ssr']);
   });
 
+  it('accepts a closing fence with trailing blanks, and ignores look-alike keys', () => {
+    const repo = tmp.path();
+    scaffold(repo);
+    writeCap(
+      repo,
+      GRILLERS,
+      'spaced',
+      '---\nrole: griller\nroles: lens\n  applies: ["ssr"]\napplies: ["universal"]\n--- \t\n# x\n',
+    );
+    const index = parseCapabilityIndex(repo);
+    expect(index.unknown).toEqual([]);
+    expect(index.capabilities).toEqual([
+      { name: 'spaced', role: 'griller', applies: 'universal' },
+    ]);
+  });
+
   it('reports an empty unknown list for a fully-parseable clone (P5: zero noise)', () => {
     const repo = tmp.path();
     scaffold(repo);
@@ -209,6 +225,30 @@ describe('parseCapabilityIndex', () => {
       label: 'a missing role field',
       body: '---\nname: x\napplies: ["universal"]\n---\n# x\n',
       reason: /missing the "role"/,
+    }, // PHARN-14: a lazy-regex fence read an EMPTY block's following BODY as
+    // frontmatter. The body carries a VALID role/applies on purpose, so the base
+    // source installs it (the wrong reason cannot make this pass).
+    {
+      label: 'an empty frontmatter block (fields only in the body)',
+      body: '---\n---\nrole: griller\napplies: ["universal"]\n---\n# x\n',
+      reason: /missing the "role"/,
+    },
+    {
+      label: 'an unterminated frontmatter fence',
+      body: '---\nrole: griller\napplies: ["universal"]\n# x\n',
+      reason: /frontmatter block/,
+    },
+    // PHARN-14: upstream's validator keeps the LAST duplicate, a first-match
+    // reader the FIRST — so a duplicate is refused rather than guessed.
+    {
+      label: 'a duplicated applies field',
+      body: '---\nrole: griller\napplies: ["ssr"]\napplies: ["universal"]\n---\n# x\n',
+      reason: /"applies" frontmatter field 2 times/,
+    },
+    {
+      label: 'a duplicated role field',
+      body: '---\nrole: griller\nrole: griller\napplies: ["universal"]\n---\n# x\n',
+      reason: /"role" frontmatter field 2 times/,
     },
   ];