diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index c37bc7b..e877e16 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -72,6 +72,12 @@ jobs:
   # would switch the guards off precisely when prose changes. The job is
   # cheap enough that running it redundantly alongside the matrix on code
   # PRs costs less than maintaining a list of which packages are guards.
+  #
+  # The capabilities gate rides along for the same reason. The semantic
+  # assertion — the checked-in capabilities page is the rendering of the
+  # YAML — is already a unit test; the make target adds the generator's
+  # own `go run` entry point, which release.yml runs against the tagged
+  # tree, so a broken target fails a PR here rather than a release.
   unit:
     name: unit tests (no Docker; docs guards)
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -82,6 +88,9 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/setup-go@40f1582b2485089dde7abd97c1529aa768e1baff # v5.6.0
         with:
           go-version-file: go.mod
+      # The gate is one `go run` and a diff; it goes first so a broken
+      # generator is reported even when an unrelated unit test fails.
+      - run: make check-capabilities
       - run: make test-unit
 
   lint:
@@ -213,7 +222,7 @@ jobs:
   # Single required status for branch protection ("all-green" is the
   # context to require). Succeeds when nothing failed — including
   # docs-only PRs, where the code-gated jobs were skipped but the unit
-  # job (and its docs guards) still had to pass.
+  # job (its docs guards and the capabilities gate) still had to pass.
   all-green:
     if: always()
     needs: [changes, unit, lint, build, test, demo]
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index e5d79ba..c9fce43 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ jobs:
           # previous workflow could have poisoned.
           cache: false
 
+      # A tag cannot ship a capabilities matrix that disagrees with its YAML.
+      - name: Check the capabilities matrix
+        run: make check-capabilities
+
       # Belt and braces on top of the ancestry gate: re-run the suite against
       # the exact tree being released.
       - name: Test the tagged tree
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 70928ed..1605a48 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ PG_DSN_LOCAL = postgres://$(PG_USER):$(PG_PASSWORD)@localhost:$(PG_PORT)/$(PG_DA
 # Which corpus replay project to run (replay/<project>/project.conf).
 REPLAY_PROJECT ?= buzz
 
-.PHONY: build gen-capabilities test test-unit test-db test-supported-postgres test-aws-boundary lint setup db-up db-down demos clean demo demo-seed demo-check replay replay-refresh replay-down
+.PHONY: build gen-capabilities check-capabilities test test-unit test-db test-supported-postgres test-aws-boundary lint setup db-up db-down demos clean demo demo-seed demo-check replay replay-refresh replay-down
 
 # The first target is make's default goal: keep build here so a bare
 # `make` builds the binary rather than rewriting a checked-in document.
@@ -54,9 +54,28 @@ lint:
 	golangci-lint run
 
 # Regenerate the marked regions of docs/capabilities.md from the embedded
-# matrix (pkg/capabilities/capabilities.yaml); CI fails if they drift.
+# matrix (pkg/capabilities/capabilities.yaml); CI fails if they drift. The
+# gate below runs the same command, so the two cannot drift apart.
+GEN_CAPABILITIES = $(GO) run ./internal/cmd/gen-capabilities
+
 gen-capabilities:
-	$(GO) run ./internal/cmd/gen-capabilities
+	$(GEN_CAPABILITIES)
+
+# Regenerate the capabilities page and fail if regeneration changed it. Only the
+# generator's own edits count, so an uncommitted edit to the hand-written prose
+# outside the marker regions does not trip the gate. The target is a pure
+# check: on failure — a generator error or a diff — it puts the page back as it
+# was before the run, so a rerun fails the same way and `make gen-capabilities`
+# is the only command that writes the page.
+check-capabilities:
+	@before=$$(mktemp); cp docs/capabilities.md "$$before"; \
+	$(GEN_CAPABILITIES) || { cp "$$before" docs/capabilities.md; rm -f "$$before"; exit 1; }; \
+	if ! diff -u --label docs/capabilities.md --label regenerated "$$before" docs/capabilities.md; then \
+		cp "$$before" docs/capabilities.md; rm -f "$$before"; \
+		echo "docs/capabilities.md disagrees with pkg/capabilities/capabilities.yaml; run make gen-capabilities and commit the result" >&2; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi; \
+	rm -f "$$before"
 
 # Configure git hooks (relative path so worktrees work too).
 setup:
diff --git a/docs/capabilities-contract.md b/docs/capabilities-contract.md
index 4592d88..b377898 100644
--- a/docs/capabilities-contract.md
+++ b/docs/capabilities-contract.md
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ path on T3 rows.
             │ go:embed                   │ regenerate                  │ committed
             ▼                            ▼                             ▼
 ┌───────────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
-│ pkg/capabilities      │     │ CI gate: regenerate, then require an empty git diff │
+│ pkg/capabilities      │     │ CI gate: regenerate, then require a no-op rewrite   │
 └───────────┬───────────┘     └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
             │
             ▼
@@ -154,10 +154,16 @@ markers — the introduction, tier explanation, legend, peer comparison, refusal
 and operator recipes — remains hand-written. Generated output is deterministic: source
 order is display order, formatting has no timestamps, and a second generation is a no-op.
 
-The generator lands with the YAML file, not later. A Make target runs its `go run`
-entry point. CI runs that target and then fails unless `git diff --exit-code` is empty.
-The test validates semantics; regenerate-and-diff proves the checked-in human page is
-the rendering of the validated data.
+The generator lands with the YAML file, not later. `make check-capabilities` runs its
+`go run` entry point and fails unless regeneration leaves the page byte-identical; only
+the generator's own edits count, so an uncommitted edit to the hand-written prose does
+not trip it, and a failing run — a generator error or a diff — restores the page as it was
+before the run, so the check has no side effect and `make gen-capabilities` is the one
+command that writes it. The unconditional
+unit job in `.github/workflows/ci.yml` runs that target beside the unit tests on code and
+docs-only changes alike, and `.github/workflows/release.yml` repeats it for the tagged
+tree before the test sweep. The test validates semantics; regenerate-and-diff proves the
+checked-in human page is the rendering of the validated data.
 
 The capability-statement rule still applies beyond the generated matrix. A behavior
 change updates the YAML, [limitations.md](limitations.md), and the README's short
@@ -261,7 +267,7 @@ prerequisite for the others; the rest land independently:
    and markers together, making the repository single-source on day one; *(done)*
 2. add `pg-sprite capabilities`, including `--json` and the embedded binary version;
    *(done)*
-3. add the regenerate-and-diff CI gate to the normal pipeline; and *(pending)*
+3. add the regenerate-and-diff CI gate to the normal pipeline; and *(done)*
 4. add documentation and `jq` recipes for consumers. *(done)*
 
 The generator is part of the first step rather than a cleanup step: there is never an