diff --git a/picker/styles/design-context.css b/picker/styles/design-context.css
index 711b0d176..c8ac676d5 100644
--- a/picker/styles/design-context.css
+++ b/picker/styles/design-context.css
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ body.dcx-open { overflow: hidden; background: linear-gradient(180deg, var(--ks-l
   padding: var(--dcx-gap) clamp(14px, 2vw, 26px) clamp(16px, 2.2vw, 28px);
 }
 
+/* The author display above would defeat the hidden attribute the shell ships
+   with, leaving an invisible 100svh box under the questionnaire. */
+.dcx-shell[hidden] { display: none; }
+
 .dcx-grid {
   position: relative;
   flex: 1 1 0;
diff --git a/skill/scripts/concept-seed.mjs b/skill/scripts/concept-seed.mjs
index 8887f9b32..2c111c192 100644
--- a/skill/scripts/concept-seed.mjs
+++ b/skill/scripts/concept-seed.mjs
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@
  *
  * Usage:
  *   node scripts/concept-seed.mjs --scope direction --mode persuade
+ *   node scripts/concept-seed.mjs --scope direction --mode persuade --seed-declined="<user's verbatim skip answer>"
  *   node scripts/concept-seed.mjs --scope surface --mode operate --from <key>
  *   node scripts/concept-seed.mjs --scope surface --mode operate --grain flow
  *   node scripts/concept-seed.mjs --scope direction --candidate-count 6
@@ -55,6 +56,16 @@
  *   node scripts/concept-seed.mjs --chosen <challenger-id> --kind challenger --from <key> --scope direction
  *   node scripts/concept-seed.mjs --kind assigned --from <key> --scope direction
  *
+ * --seed-declined records that the user was offered the document --seed
+ * questionnaire on a no-DESIGN.md project and skipped it. The flag carries
+ * evidence: its value is the user's verbatim skip answer, quoted from the
+ * conversation. Without it, a --scope direction roll on a project with no
+ * DESIGN.md refuses to deal and prints the pause directive instead; a bare
+ * or empty flag refuses the same way (a real live session self-passed the
+ * boolean form without asking, which is why the flag demands the quote).
+ * Fabricating or paraphrasing the quote is a contract violation, not a
+ * shortcut.
+ *
  * --grain names how much of the product is in play: product, flow, view, or
  * region. A docs site, an onboarding flow, a landing page and a data table are
  * four different amounts of product and want different compositions. Grain is a
@@ -87,6 +98,10 @@
  *   IMPECCABLE_CATALOG_DIR  — directory holding the four catalog JSON files.
  *   IMPECCABLE_API_URL      — roll API base (default https://impeccable.style/api).
  *   IMPECCABLE_NO_TELEMETRY — disables the choice ping (DO_NOT_TRACK also honored).
+ *   IMPECCABLE_SEED_DECLINED — set to 1 to bypass the seed pause without a
+ *     quote; the unattended escape for eval and CI harnesses that
+ *     legitimately roll direction on a no-DESIGN.md workspace. Never for
+ *     attended sessions; the bypass is logged to stderr so it stays auditable.
  */
 
 import crypto from 'node:crypto';
@@ -736,6 +751,21 @@ if (isMainModule()) {
   const candidateCountIdx = args.indexOf('--candidate-count');
   const chosenIdx = args.indexOf('--chosen');
   const kindIdx = args.indexOf('--kind');
+  // --seed-declined carries evidence: the user's verbatim skip answer, in
+  // either --seed-declined="<answer>" or --seed-declined <answer> form. A
+  // bare or empty flag does not count; a live session self-passed the
+  // boolean form without asking the user, so the flag demands the quote.
+  let seedDeclinedAnswer = null;
+  for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i += 1) {
+    if (args[i] === '--seed-declined') {
+      const next = args[i + 1];
+      seedDeclinedAnswer = next !== undefined && !next.startsWith('--') ? next : '';
+    } else if (args[i].startsWith('--seed-declined=')) {
+      seedDeclinedAnswer = args[i].slice('--seed-declined='.length);
+    }
+  }
+  const seedDeclinedByEnv = process.env.IMPECCABLE_SEED_DECLINED === '1';
+  const seedDeclined = Boolean(seedDeclinedAnswer && seedDeclinedAnswer.trim()) || seedDeclinedByEnv;
   try {
     if (chosenIdx !== -1 || kindIdx !== -1) {
       // Choice ping: always exits 0, telemetry must never fail a design flow.
@@ -776,7 +806,8 @@ if (isMainModule()) {
       // rolled directions with no PRODUCT.md, so nothing grounded the fusion).
       // The --chosen branch above stays ungated; telemetry never blocks.
       const { loadContext } = await import('./context.mjs');
-      if (!loadContext(process.cwd()).hasProduct) {
+      const ctx = loadContext(process.cwd());
+      if (!ctx.hasProduct) {
         process.stdout.write([
           'NO_PRODUCT_MD: the dice stay in the cup until product truth exists.',
           'Complete the init ask round and write PRODUCT.md first (reference/init.md), then re-run this exact command.',
@@ -784,6 +815,31 @@ if (isMainModule()) {
         ].join(' ') + '\n');
         process.exit(1);
       }
+      // Mechanical seed-pause gate: prose alone did not keep a model from
+      // rolling a direction before offering the seed questionnaire (a real
+      // session read a stale reference file and dealt straight after init),
+      // and a boolean flag did not either (the next session self-passed it
+      // without asking). A direction roll invents the visual world, so on a
+      // project with no DESIGN.md the user gets the choice first; a seed
+      // DESIGN.md counts as present, so a post-questionnaire re-entry never
+      // re-asks. The flag now carries the user's verbatim skip answer.
+      const scopeArg = scopeIdx !== -1 ? args[scopeIdx + 1] : 'surface';
+      if (scopeArg === 'direction' && !ctx.hasDesign && !seedDeclined) {
+        process.stdout.write([
+          'NO_DESIGN_MD: the dice stay in the cup until the user answers the seed question.',
+          'First action: create a tracked todo "Ask user: document --seed or skip" with the harness todo tool and start no other todo until it is answered; with no todo tool, state this gate to the user in chat before anything else.',
+          'Then ask one question: recommend `document --seed`, the guided interview plus browser questionnaire (reference/document.md, seed mode), because a world built from the user\'s own choices beats one assigned to them; offer the skip in the same breath.',
+          'User accepts: run document seed mode; its seed DESIGN.md reads as an established world, so no direction roll happens.',
+          'User skips: re-run this exact command with --seed-declined="<their verbatim skip answer>" quoting the user\'s actual words from this conversation.',
+          'The original build request is never a skip answer, a bare or empty flag refuses again, and a fabricated or paraphrased quote is a contract violation.',
+        ].join(' ') + '\n');
+        process.exit(1);
+      }
+      if (scopeArg === 'direction' && !ctx.hasDesign && seedDeclinedByEnv && !(seedDeclinedAnswer && seedDeclinedAnswer.trim())) {
+        // Auditable trace for the unattended escape; stderr keeps the seed
+        // output clean for the agent.
+        process.stderr.write('seed pause bypassed via IMPECCABLE_SEED_DECLINED (unattended harness escape)\n');
+      }
       process.stdout.write(await renderConceptSeed({
         scope: scopeIdx !== -1 ? args[scopeIdx + 1] : 'surface',
         key: fromIdx !== -1
diff --git a/tests/concept-seed.test.mjs b/tests/concept-seed.test.mjs
index 40a225557..0a3aeffdf 100644
--- a/tests/concept-seed.test.mjs
+++ b/tests/concept-seed.test.mjs
@@ -532,7 +532,9 @@ describe('init gate', () => {
   const gateRun = (cwd) => spawnSync(process.execPath, [SCRIPT, '--scope', 'direction', '--from', 'gate-test'], {
     cwd,
     encoding: 'utf-8',
-    env: { ...process.env, IMPECCABLE_CATALOG_DIR: FIXTURE_DIR, IMPECCABLE_CONTEXT_DIR: '' },
+    // Blank the escape hatch so a developer shell carrying it never turns
+    // the refusal assertions green for the wrong reason.
+    env: { ...process.env, IMPECCABLE_CATALOG_DIR: FIXTURE_DIR, IMPECCABLE_CONTEXT_DIR: '', IMPECCABLE_SEED_DECLINED: '' },
   });
 
   it('refuses to deal when no PRODUCT.md exists and routes to init', () => {
@@ -547,11 +549,75 @@ describe('init gate', () => {
   it('deals normally once PRODUCT.md exists', () => {
     const dir = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), 'concept-seed-product-'));
     writeFileSync(path.join(dir, 'PRODUCT.md'), '# Test Product\n\n## Register\n\nbrand\n');
+    // DESIGN.md keeps this case about the product gate; the seed pause has
+    // its own suite below.
+    writeFileSync(path.join(dir, 'DESIGN.md'), '# Design\n\nEstablished world.\n');
     const result = gateRun(dir);
     assert.equal(result.status, 0);
     assert.doesNotMatch(result.stdout, /NO_PRODUCT_MD/);
   });
 
+  // The seed pause: a direction roll invents the visual world, so a project
+  // with PRODUCT.md but no DESIGN.md gets the questionnaire offer before the
+  // deal. The refusal is mechanical because prose alone did not stop a real
+  // session from rolling straight after init.
+  const seedGateDir = (design = null) => {
+    const dir = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), 'concept-seed-seedgate-'));
+    writeFileSync(path.join(dir, 'PRODUCT.md'), '# Test Product\n\n## Platform\n\nweb\n');
+    if (design !== null) writeFileSync(path.join(dir, 'DESIGN.md'), design);
+    return dir;
+  };
+
+  it('refuses a direction roll with no DESIGN.md and routes to the seed questionnaire offer', () => {
+    const result = gateRun(seedGateDir());
+    assert.equal(result.status, 1);
+    assert.match(result.stdout, /NO_DESIGN_MD/);
+    assert.match(result.stdout, /document --seed/);
+    assert.match(result.stdout, /--seed-declined/);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(result.stdout, /ASSIGNED INDEX/);
+  });
+
+  it('deals a direction once --seed-declined records the user skip', () => {
+    const dir = seedGateDir();
+    const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, [SCRIPT, '--scope', 'direction', '--from', 'gate-test', '--seed-declined'], {
+      cwd: dir,
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      env: { ...process.env, IMPECCABLE_CATALOG_DIR: FIXTURE_DIR, IMPECCABLE_CONTEXT_DIR: '' },
+    });
+    assert.equal(result.status, 0);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(result.stdout, /NO_DESIGN_MD/);
+    assert.match(result.stdout, /ASSIGNED INDEX/);
+  });
+
+  it('honors IMPECCABLE_SEED_DECLINED=1 for harnesses that cannot thread the flag', () => {
+    const dir = seedGateDir();
+    const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, [SCRIPT, '--scope', 'direction', '--from', 'gate-test'], {
+      cwd: dir,
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      env: { ...process.env, IMPECCABLE_CATALOG_DIR: FIXTURE_DIR, IMPECCABLE_CONTEXT_DIR: '', IMPECCABLE_SEED_DECLINED: '1' },
+    });
+    assert.equal(result.status, 0);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(result.stdout, /NO_DESIGN_MD/);
+  });
+
+  it('treats a seed DESIGN.md as present so a post-questionnaire re-entry never re-asks', () => {
+    const seedDesign = '# Design\n\n<!-- SEED: established with the user before implementation; re-run /impeccable document once there\'s code to capture the actual tokens and components. -->\n';
+    const result = gateRun(seedGateDir(seedDesign));
+    assert.equal(result.status, 0);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(result.stdout, /NO_DESIGN_MD/);
+  });
+
+  it('never seed-gates a surface roll', () => {
+    const dir = seedGateDir();
+    const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, [SCRIPT, '--scope', 'surface', '--from', 'gate-test'], {
+      cwd: dir,
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      env: { ...process.env, IMPECCABLE_CATALOG_DIR: FIXTURE_DIR, IMPECCABLE_CONTEXT_DIR: '' },
+    });
+    assert.equal(result.status, 0);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(result.stdout, /NO_DESIGN_MD/);
+  });
+
   it('never gates the choice ping', () => {
     const dir = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), 'concept-seed-ping-'));
     const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, [SCRIPT, '--chosen', 'assigned', '--from', 'gate-test'], {
@@ -809,7 +875,7 @@ describe('API roll path', () => {
       const result = await new Promise((resolveRun, rejectRun) => {
         const child = spawn(NODE, [
           '--import', pathToFileURL(preloadPath).href,
-          SCRIPT, '--scope', 'direction', '--mode', 'persuade', '--from', 'api-test',
+          SCRIPT, '--scope', 'direction', '--mode', 'persuade', '--from', 'api-test', '--seed-declined',
         ], {
           cwd: dir,
           env: {