diff --git a/src/commands/eval-code-retrieval.ts b/src/commands/eval-code-retrieval.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..00acca8ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/eval-code-retrieval.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,260 @@
+/**
+ * v0.34 pre-w0 — `gbrain eval code-retrieval` CLI.
+ *
+ * Subcommands:
+ *   --baseline           Capture pre-v0.34 retrieval quality. Saves the number
+ *                        v0.34 must beat. Run 3x for noise floor.
+ *   --with-code-intel    Run against v0.34's code-intel MCP ops. Pre-W3 this
+ *                        returns mostly-empty results (honest baseline).
+ *   --compare A B        Read two saved reports and compute the gate verdict.
+ *
+ * Output:
+ *   stdout — human-readable table by default; `--json` for machine.
+ *   `--save <path>` writes the EvalRunReport JSON to disk.
+ *
+ * The CLI deliberately separates capture (read-only) from compare (pure JSON
+ * read) so the eval data can move between machines / CI without re-running
+ * against a brain.
+ */
+
+import { writeFileSync, existsSync, readFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { resolve, dirname, join } from 'path';
+import { mkdirSync } from 'fs';
+import type { BrainEngine } from '../core/engine.ts';
+import {
+  loadQuestions,
+  runCodeRetrievalEval,
+  evaluateGate,
+  DEFAULT_GATE,
+  type EvalRunReport,
+} from '../eval/code-retrieval/harness.ts';
+import { BaselineStrategy, WithCodeIntelStrategy } from '../eval/code-retrieval/strategies.ts';
+import { createProgress } from '../core/progress.ts';
+import { getCliOptions, cliOptsToProgressOptions } from '../core/cli-options.ts';
+
+interface ParsedArgs {
+  help: boolean;
+  baseline: boolean;
+  withCodeIntel: boolean;
+  compare?: { a: string; b: string };
+  corpus: string;
+  questionsPath: string;
+  source?: string;
+  k: number;
+  save?: string;
+  json: boolean;
+}
+
+const DEFAULT_QUESTIONS_PATH = 'src/eval/code-retrieval/questions.json';
+
+function parseArgs(args: string[]): ParsedArgs {
+  const out: ParsedArgs = {
+    help: false,
+    baseline: false,
+    withCodeIntel: false,
+    corpus: 'gbrain',
+    questionsPath: DEFAULT_QUESTIONS_PATH,
+    k: 5,
+    json: false,
+  };
+  let i = 0;
+  while (i < args.length) {
+    const a = args[i];
+    if (a === '--help' || a === '-h') out.help = true;
+    else if (a === '--baseline') out.baseline = true;
+    else if (a === '--with-code-intel') out.withCodeIntel = true;
+    else if (a === '--compare') {
+      const aPath = args[++i];
+      const bPath = args[++i];
+      if (!aPath || !bPath) throw new Error('--compare requires two file paths');
+      out.compare = { a: aPath, b: bPath };
+    } else if (a === '--corpus') out.corpus = args[++i] ?? 'gbrain';
+    else if (a === '--questions') out.questionsPath = args[++i] ?? DEFAULT_QUESTIONS_PATH;
+    else if (a === '--source') out.source = args[++i];
+    else if (a === '--k') out.k = parseInt(args[++i] ?? '5', 10);
+    else if (a === '--save') out.save = args[++i];
+    else if (a === '--json') out.json = true;
+    i++;
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+function printHelp(): void {
+  process.stdout.write(`
+gbrain eval code-retrieval — v0.34 retrieval baseline + gate
+
+Capture a retrieval-quality number against a curated question set. The
+baseline captured here is what v0.34 must beat (precision@5 +10pp OR
+answered_rate +15pp on >=15/30 questions).
+
+USAGE:
+  gbrain eval code-retrieval --baseline [--corpus NAME] [--save PATH] [--json]
+  gbrain eval code-retrieval --with-code-intel [--corpus NAME] [--save PATH] [--json]
+  gbrain eval code-retrieval --compare BASELINE.json WITH_CODE_INTEL.json [--json]
+
+OPTIONS:
+  --baseline               Capture pre-v0.34 retrieval (query + search only)
+  --with-code-intel        Capture v0.34 mode (code_blast / code_flow / etc.)
+  --compare A B            Compare two saved reports; emits gate pass/fail
+  --corpus NAME            Brain corpus to query (default: gbrain)
+  --questions PATH         Question file (default: ${DEFAULT_QUESTIONS_PATH})
+  --source SOURCE_ID       Source to scope queries to (default: brain default)
+  --k N                    Top-k cutoff (default: 5)
+  --save PATH              Write EvalRunReport JSON to disk
+  --json                   Machine-readable JSON to stdout
+  -h, --help               This help
+
+PRE-V0.34 BASELINE WORKFLOW (the assignment):
+  # Capture baseline 3x for noise floor
+  gbrain eval code-retrieval --baseline --save /tmp/baseline-1.json
+  gbrain eval code-retrieval --baseline --save /tmp/baseline-2.json
+  gbrain eval code-retrieval --baseline --save /tmp/baseline-3.json
+
+V0.34 SHIP GATE:
+  # After v0.34 ships, capture the with-code-intel run and compare
+  gbrain eval code-retrieval --with-code-intel --save /tmp/v034.json
+  gbrain eval code-retrieval --compare /tmp/baseline-1.json /tmp/v034.json
+`);
+}
+
+export async function runEvalCodeRetrieval(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]): Promise<void> {
+  let opts: ParsedArgs;
+  try {
+    opts = parseArgs(args);
+  } catch (err: any) {
+    process.stderr.write(`error: ${err.message}\n`);
+    process.exit(2);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (opts.help) {
+    printHelp();
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // --compare mode: pure JSON read, no engine needed (engine still passed by
+  // the dispatcher; we just don't touch it).
+  if (opts.compare) {
+    return runCompare(opts);
+  }
+
+  if (!opts.baseline && !opts.withCodeIntel) {
+    process.stderr.write('error: specify --baseline or --with-code-intel (or --compare)\n');
+    printHelp();
+    process.exit(2);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const questions = loadQuestions(resolve(opts.questionsPath));
+  const sourceId = opts.source ?? (await resolveDefaultSource(engine));
+
+  const strategy = opts.baseline
+    ? new BaselineStrategy(engine, sourceId)
+    : new WithCodeIntelStrategy(engine, sourceId);
+
+  const progress = createProgress(cliOptsToProgressOptions(getCliOptions()));
+  progress.start(`eval.code_retrieval.${strategy.mode}`, questions.questions.length);
+
+  const report = await runCodeRetrievalEval(questions.questions, strategy, {
+    k: opts.k,
+    corpus: opts.corpus,
+    onProgress: (done, _total, qid) => progress.tick(1, qid),
+  });
+
+  progress.finish();
+
+  if (opts.save) {
+    const savePath = resolve(opts.save);
+    mkdirSync(dirname(savePath), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(savePath, JSON.stringify(report, null, 2));
+    process.stderr.write(`[eval] saved report to ${savePath}\n`);
+  }
+
+  if (opts.json) {
+    process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(report, null, 2) + '\n');
+    return;
+  }
+
+  printSingleReport(report);
+}
+
+function runCompare(opts: ParsedArgs): void {
+  if (!opts.compare) return;
+  const aPath = resolve(opts.compare.a);
+  const bPath = resolve(opts.compare.b);
+  for (const p of [aPath, bPath]) {
+    if (!existsSync(p)) {
+      process.stderr.write(`error: report not found at ${p}\n`);
+      process.exit(2);
+      return;
+    }
+  }
+  const a: EvalRunReport = JSON.parse(readFileSync(aPath, 'utf8'));
+  const b: EvalRunReport = JSON.parse(readFileSync(bPath, 'utf8'));
+
+  // Convention: the first arg is baseline, the second is with-code-intel.
+  // If labels disagree, swap so the comparison is meaningful.
+  let baseline = a;
+  let withCodeIntel = b;
+  if (a.mode === 'with-code-intel' && b.mode === 'baseline') {
+    baseline = b;
+    withCodeIntel = a;
+  }
+
+  const gate = evaluateGate(baseline, withCodeIntel, DEFAULT_GATE);
+
+  if (opts.json) {
+    process.stdout.write(
+      JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          schema_version: 1,
+          passed: gate.passed,
+          precision_delta_pp: gate.precision_delta_pp,
+          top_1_stability_rate: gate.top_1_stability_rate,
+          questions_cleared_bar: gate.questions_cleared_bar,
+          questions_total: gate.questions_total,
+          summary: gate.summary,
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ) + '\n',
+    );
+    process.exit(gate.passed ? 0 : 1);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  process.stdout.write(`\n${gate.summary}\n\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`baseline:        precision@${baseline.k}=${(baseline.mean_precision_at_k * 100).toFixed(1)}%   answered=${(baseline.answered_rate * 100).toFixed(1)}%   (commit ${baseline.commit})\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`with-code-intel: precision@${withCodeIntel.k}=${(withCodeIntel.mean_precision_at_k * 100).toFixed(1)}%   answered=${(withCodeIntel.answered_rate * 100).toFixed(1)}%   (commit ${withCodeIntel.commit})\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`delta:           +${gate.precision_delta_pp.toFixed(1)}pp precision   top-1 stability=${(gate.top_1_stability_rate * 100).toFixed(1)}%\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`cleared bar:     ${gate.questions_cleared_bar}/${gate.questions_total}\n\n`);
+
+  process.exit(gate.passed ? 0 : 1);
+}
+
+function printSingleReport(report: EvalRunReport): void {
+  process.stdout.write(`\n=== code-retrieval eval (mode=${report.mode}) ===\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`corpus:      ${report.corpus}\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`commit:      ${report.commit}\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`captured:    ${report.captured_at}\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`questions:   ${report.questions.length}\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`precision@${report.k}: ${(report.mean_precision_at_k * 100).toFixed(1)}%\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`answered:    ${report.questions.filter((q) => q.answered).length}/${report.questions.length} (${(report.answered_rate * 100).toFixed(1)}%)\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`latency:     ${report.total_latency_ms}ms total, ${(report.total_latency_ms / Math.max(1, report.questions.length)).toFixed(0)}ms/q\n`);
+  process.stdout.write(`\nper-question:\n`);
+  for (const q of report.questions) {
+    const status = q.answered ? '✓' : '✗';
+    process.stdout.write(`  ${status} ${q.id.padEnd(20)} p@${report.k}=${(q.precision_at_k * 100).toFixed(0)}% recall@${report.k}=${(q.recall_at_k * 100).toFixed(0)}% (${q.latency_ms}ms)\n`);
+  }
+  process.stdout.write('\n');
+}
+
+async function resolveDefaultSource(engine: BrainEngine): Promise<string> {
+  // Try the engine's listSources if it exists; otherwise return a sensible default.
+  // Most brains have one source; this picks that one.
+  const sources = await (engine as any).listSources?.();
+  if (Array.isArray(sources) && sources.length > 0) {
+    return sources[0].id ?? 'default';
+  }
+  return 'default';
+}
diff --git a/src/commands/eval.ts b/src/commands/eval.ts
index 595807300..47b09d4e0 100644
--- a/src/commands/eval.ts
+++ b/src/commands/eval.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,14 @@ export async function runEvalCommand(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]): Promi
     const { runEvalCrossModal } = await import('./eval-cross-modal.ts');
     process.exit(await runEvalCrossModal(args.slice(1)));
   }
+  if (sub === 'code-retrieval') {
+    // v0.34 pre-w0 — code-retrieval baseline / gate harness. Needs a brain
+    // for the baseline (BaselineStrategy calls hybridSearch); --compare
+    // mode reads JSON only but the engine is already connected by this
+    // dispatcher.
+    const { runEvalCodeRetrieval } = await import('./eval-code-retrieval.ts');
+    return runEvalCodeRetrieval(engine, args.slice(1));
+  }
 
   const opts = parseArgs(args);
 
diff --git a/src/eval/code-retrieval/harness.ts b/src/eval/code-retrieval/harness.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ece7b036b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/eval/code-retrieval/harness.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,390 @@
+/**
+ * v0.34 pre-w0 — code-retrieval eval harness.
+ *
+ * The baseline this captures is what v0.34 must beat (precision@5 +10pp OR
+ * top-1 stability +15pp on >=15/30 questions, above the 3-run noise floor).
+ *
+ * Two modes:
+ *   --baseline       Uses only `query` + `search` (today's gbrain). The number
+ *                    captured here is the v0.34 ship gate.
+ *   --with-code-intel Uses the v0.34 code-intel MCP ops (code_blast / code_flow
+ *                    / code_def / code_refs / code_callers / code_callees /
+ *                    code_cluster_get). Numerator of the gate comparison.
+ *
+ * Pure-function metrics live at the bottom of this file; the runner can be
+ * stubbed for unit testing without touching the brain.
+ *
+ * Hermetic by design: cli.ts skips connectEngine() when the user is in
+ * --help mode. Real runs connect to ~/.gbrain (the dogfood brain) by default
+ * unless --corpus points elsewhere.
+ */
+
+import { readFileSync, existsSync } from 'fs';
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Types — stable contract for downstream consumers (gbrain-evals, CI)
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+export type CodeQuestionKind =
+  | 'callers'
+  | 'callees'
+  | 'definition'
+  | 'references'
+  | 'blast_radius'
+  | 'execution_flow'
+  | 'cluster_membership';
+
+export interface CodeQuestion {
+  id: string;
+  kind: CodeQuestionKind;
+  /** Human-language query an agent would type. */
+  query: string;
+  /** Canonical symbol to look up structurally (post-v0.34). */
+  symbol: string;
+  /** Expected file paths that must appear in the retrieved set. */
+  expected_files: string[];
+  /**
+   * Minimum recall@k against `expected_files` for this question to count as
+   * "answered." For some post-v0.34-only questions, baseline expectations
+   * are intentionally low (0.3) since today's gbrain can't answer them.
+   */
+  expected_min_recall: number;
+  note?: string;
+}
+
+export interface CodeQuestionFile {
+  version: number;
+  schema: string;
+  corpus: string;
+  description: string;
+  questions: CodeQuestion[];
+}
+
+export interface QuestionResult {
+  id: string;
+  kind: CodeQuestionKind;
+  /** Files actually returned, in rank order (top-k). */
+  retrieved_files: string[];
+  /** Top-1 file (the single most-confident answer). */
+  top_1: string | null;
+  /** precision@k = |relevant ∩ retrieved| / |retrieved|. */
+  precision_at_k: number;
+  /** recall@k = |relevant ∩ retrieved| / |relevant|. */
+  recall_at_k: number;
+  /** Whether this question's bar (`expected_min_recall`) was cleared. */
+  answered: boolean;
+  /** Total latency for this question's tool calls, in ms. */
+  latency_ms: number;
+}
+
+export interface EvalRunReport {
+  mode: 'baseline' | 'with-code-intel';
+  schema_version: 1;
+  corpus: string;
+  k: number;
+  questions: QuestionResult[];
+  /** Mean precision@k across all questions. */
+  mean_precision_at_k: number;
+  /** Fraction of questions that cleared their expected_min_recall bar. */
+  answered_rate: number;
+  /** Top-1 stability — set when comparing two runs; null for single-run. */
+  top_1_stability_rate?: number;
+  /** Aggregate run latency, ms. */
+  total_latency_ms: number;
+  /** ISO-8601 capture time. */
+  captured_at: string;
+  /** Git short-SHA at capture time. */
+  commit: string;
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Pure metrics (no engine dependency, fully unit-testable)
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * precision@k = relevant ∩ retrieved (top-k) / retrieved (top-k)
+ * Returns 0 when retrieved is empty.
+ */
+export function precisionAtK(retrieved: string[], relevant: Set<string>, k: number): number {
+  const topK = retrieved.slice(0, k);
+  if (topK.length === 0) return 0;
+  let hits = 0;
+  for (const r of topK) {
+    if (relevant.has(r)) hits++;
+  }
+  return hits / topK.length;
+}
+
+/**
+ * recall@k = relevant ∩ retrieved (top-k) / relevant
+ * Returns 1 when relevant is empty (degenerate case).
+ */
+export function recallAtK(retrieved: string[], relevant: Set<string>, k: number): number {
+  if (relevant.size === 0) return 1;
+  const topK = new Set(retrieved.slice(0, k));
+  let hits = 0;
+  for (const r of relevant) {
+    if (topK.has(r)) hits++;
+  }
+  return hits / relevant.size;
+}
+
+/**
+ * top-1 stability rate between two runs over the same question set.
+ * Computed as |{q : run1.top_1 === run2.top_1}| / total. NaN → 0.
+ */
+export function top1StabilityRate(run1: QuestionResult[], run2: QuestionResult[]): number {
+  if (run1.length === 0 || run2.length === 0) return 0;
+  const lookup = new Map(run2.map((q) => [q.id, q.top_1]));
+  let stable = 0;
+  let comparable = 0;
+  for (const q of run1) {
+    if (!lookup.has(q.id)) continue;
+    comparable++;
+    if (q.top_1 === lookup.get(q.id)) stable++;
+  }
+  return comparable === 0 ? 0 : stable / comparable;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Match `retrieved_files` against `expected_files` accounting for prefix
+ * matching: a retrieved file "src/foo/bar.ts" counts as matching the
+ * expected entry "src/foo/" (trailing slash = directory match).
+ * Set semantics — duplicates collapse.
+ */
+export function normalizeRetrieved(retrieved_files: string[]): string[] {
+  // Dedupe + drop empties; do not mutate order.
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  const out: string[] = [];
+  for (const f of retrieved_files) {
+    if (!f) continue;
+    if (seen.has(f)) continue;
+    seen.add(f);
+    out.push(f);
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+export function expandExpectedToRelevantSet(expected: string[]): {
+  exactFiles: Set<string>;
+  dirPrefixes: string[];
+} {
+  const exactFiles = new Set<string>();
+  const dirPrefixes: string[] = [];
+  for (const e of expected) {
+    if (e.endsWith('/')) dirPrefixes.push(e);
+    else exactFiles.add(e);
+  }
+  return { exactFiles, dirPrefixes };
+}
+
+export function isFileRelevant(file: string, expected: ReturnType<typeof expandExpectedToRelevantSet>): boolean {
+  if (expected.exactFiles.has(file)) return true;
+  for (const p of expected.dirPrefixes) {
+    if (file.startsWith(p)) return true;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Loader
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+export function loadQuestions(path: string): CodeQuestionFile {
+  if (!existsSync(path)) {
+    throw new Error(`questions file not found: ${path}`);
+  }
+  const raw = readFileSync(path, 'utf8');
+  let parsed: CodeQuestionFile;
+  try {
+    parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
+  } catch (err: any) {
+    throw new Error(`failed to parse questions JSON: ${err.message}`);
+  }
+  if (parsed.version !== 1) {
+    throw new Error(`unsupported questions file version ${parsed.version} (expected 1)`);
+  }
+  if (!Array.isArray(parsed.questions) || parsed.questions.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error('questions file contains no questions');
+  }
+  for (const q of parsed.questions) {
+    if (!q.id || !q.kind || !q.query || !Array.isArray(q.expected_files)) {
+      throw new Error(`malformed question entry: ${JSON.stringify(q)}`);
+    }
+  }
+  return parsed;
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Mode dispatch — pluggable retrieval strategies
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * A retrieval strategy maps a question to a ranked list of file paths.
+ * Pure abstraction so the runner is testable without engine dependencies.
+ */
+export interface RetrievalStrategy {
+  readonly mode: 'baseline' | 'with-code-intel';
+  retrieve(question: CodeQuestion, k: number): Promise<{ files: string[]; latency_ms: number }>;
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Runner
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+export interface RunnerOpts {
+  k: number;
+  corpus: string;
+  onProgress?: (done: number, total: number, currentQ: string) => void;
+}
+
+export async function runCodeRetrievalEval(
+  questions: CodeQuestion[],
+  strategy: RetrievalStrategy,
+  opts: RunnerOpts,
+): Promise<EvalRunReport> {
+  const results: QuestionResult[] = [];
+  const startedAt = Date.now();
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < questions.length; i++) {
+    const q = questions[i];
+    const t0 = Date.now();
+    let retrieved: string[] = [];
+    let latency_ms = 0;
+    try {
+      const r = await strategy.retrieve(q, opts.k);
+      retrieved = normalizeRetrieved(r.files);
+      latency_ms = r.latency_ms;
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      // Retrieval errors are part of the eval signal — record as empty result.
+      retrieved = [];
+      latency_ms = Date.now() - t0;
+      process.stderr.write(`[eval] retrieval error on ${q.id}: ${err?.message ?? err}\n`);
+    }
+
+    const expected = expandExpectedToRelevantSet(q.expected_files);
+    const relevantSet = new Set(retrieved.filter((f) => isFileRelevant(f, expected)));
+    const recall_at_k = recallAtK(Array.from(relevantSet), expected.exactFiles, opts.k);
+    const precision_at_k = precisionAtK(retrieved, relevantSet, opts.k);
+    const top_1 = retrieved[0] ?? null;
+    const answered = recall_at_k >= q.expected_min_recall;
+
+    results.push({
+      id: q.id,
+      kind: q.kind,
+      retrieved_files: retrieved,
+      top_1,
+      precision_at_k,
+      recall_at_k,
+      answered,
+      latency_ms,
+    });
+
+    opts.onProgress?.(i + 1, questions.length, q.id);
+  }
+
+  const total_latency_ms = Date.now() - startedAt;
+  const mean_precision_at_k = results.reduce((a, r) => a + r.precision_at_k, 0) / Math.max(1, results.length);
+  const answered_rate = results.filter((r) => r.answered).length / Math.max(1, results.length);
+
+  let commit = 'unknown';
+  try {
+    const { execSync } = await import('child_process');
+    commit = execSync('git rev-parse --short HEAD', { encoding: 'utf8' }).trim();
+  } catch {
+    // Not in a git repo or git unavailable — leave as 'unknown'
+  }
+
+  return {
+    mode: strategy.mode,
+    schema_version: 1,
+    corpus: opts.corpus,
+    k: opts.k,
+    questions: results,
+    mean_precision_at_k,
+    answered_rate,
+    total_latency_ms,
+    captured_at: new Date().toISOString(),
+    commit,
+  };
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Comparison — used by the v0.34 ship gate
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+export interface GateResult {
+  passed: boolean;
+  precision_delta_pp: number;
+  top_1_stability_rate: number;
+  questions_cleared_bar: number;
+  questions_total: number;
+  baseline: EvalRunReport;
+  with_code_intel: EvalRunReport;
+  /** Free-form summary explaining pass/fail. */
+  summary: string;
+}
+
+export interface GateOpts {
+  /** Required precision@5 delta (in percentage points) to pass. Default: 10. */
+  required_precision_delta_pp: number;
+  /** Required top-1 stability rate to pass (alternative criterion). Default: 0.15 lower bound. */
+  required_top_1_stability_delta: number;
+  /** Minimum questions that must clear `expected_min_recall` in with-code-intel mode. Default: 15. */
+  min_questions_cleared: number;
+}
+
+export const DEFAULT_GATE: GateOpts = {
+  required_precision_delta_pp: 10,
+  required_top_1_stability_delta: 0.15,
+  min_questions_cleared: 15,
+};
+
+export function evaluateGate(
+  baseline: EvalRunReport,
+  with_code_intel: EvalRunReport,
+  opts: GateOpts = DEFAULT_GATE,
+): GateResult {
+  const precision_delta_pp = (with_code_intel.mean_precision_at_k - baseline.mean_precision_at_k) * 100;
+  const top_1_stability_rate = top1StabilityRate(baseline.questions, with_code_intel.questions);
+  const questions_cleared_bar = with_code_intel.questions.filter((q) => q.answered).length;
+  const questions_total = with_code_intel.questions.length;
+
+  const precisionPasses = precision_delta_pp >= opts.required_precision_delta_pp;
+  // Stability is "how much DIFFERENT" — for an improvement gate we want
+  // either precision OR a substantive reordering that lands more good answers.
+  // We use a delta over baseline's own stability, treating baseline as 1.0
+  // self-stability. Convention: pass when stability is lower (more changes)
+  // AND a higher answered_rate. Otherwise the gate would punish v0.34 for
+  // changing the retrieval order even when it lands better answers.
+  const stabilityPasses =
+    with_code_intel.answered_rate - baseline.answered_rate >= opts.required_top_1_stability_delta;
+  const enoughCleared = questions_cleared_bar >= opts.min_questions_cleared;
+
+  const passed = enoughCleared && (precisionPasses || stabilityPasses);
+
+  const reasons: string[] = [];
+  if (!enoughCleared) {
+    reasons.push(
+      `only ${questions_cleared_bar}/${questions_total} questions cleared expected_min_recall (need >=${opts.min_questions_cleared})`,
+    );
+  }
+  if (precisionPasses) reasons.push(`precision@${baseline.k} +${precision_delta_pp.toFixed(1)}pp (>=${opts.required_precision_delta_pp})`);
+  else reasons.push(`precision@${baseline.k} delta ${precision_delta_pp.toFixed(1)}pp (<${opts.required_precision_delta_pp})`);
+  if (stabilityPasses) reasons.push(`answered_rate +${((with_code_intel.answered_rate - baseline.answered_rate) * 100).toFixed(1)}pp`);
+
+  const summary = passed
+    ? `GATE PASS — ${reasons.join('; ')}`
+    : `GATE FAIL — ${reasons.join('; ')}`;
+
+  return {
+    passed,
+    precision_delta_pp,
+    top_1_stability_rate,
+    questions_cleared_bar,
+    questions_total,
+    baseline,
+    with_code_intel,
+    summary,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/eval/code-retrieval/questions.json b/src/eval/code-retrieval/questions.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..843fa3347
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/eval/code-retrieval/questions.json
@@ -0,0 +1,252 @@
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "schema": "1",
+  "corpus": "gbrain",
+  "description": "v0.34 code-retrieval baseline. 30 questions about gbrain's own codebase covering callers, callees, definitions, blast radius, and cluster membership. The 'expected' field is a SET of file:line tuples (not page slugs) for code-symbol retrieval. Match semantics: a result counts as relevant when its (file, line) matches any expected tuple OR its (file, symbol_qualified) matches when symbol_qualified is provided.\n\nTo regenerate / extend: bump version, add questions, document the diff. Pre-v0.34 baseline is captured against this exact set so it cannot be retroactively tuned.",
+  "questions": [
+    {
+      "id": "callers-001",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls performSync",
+      "symbol": "performSync",
+      "expected_files": ["src/commands/sync.ts", "src/core/cycle.ts", "src/commands/jobs.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.6
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "callers-002",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls hybridSearch",
+      "symbol": "hybridSearch",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/operations.ts", "src/core/eval-capture.ts", "src/core/search/eval.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "callers-003",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls runCycle",
+      "symbol": "runCycle",
+      "expected_files": ["src/commands/dream.ts", "src/commands/autopilot.ts", "src/commands/jobs.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.6
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "callers-004",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls importFromContent",
+      "symbol": "importFromContent",
+      "expected_files": ["src/commands/import.ts", "src/commands/sync.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "callers-005",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls embed",
+      "symbol": "embed",
+      "expected_files": ["src/commands/embed.ts", "src/core/import-file.ts", "src/core/search/eval.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.4
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "callers-006",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls put_page operation",
+      "symbol": "putPage",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/operations.ts", "src/commands/import.ts", "src/core/cycle"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.4
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "callees-001",
+      "kind": "callees",
+      "query": "what does performSync call",
+      "symbol": "performSync",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/import-file.ts", "src/core/sync.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "callees-002",
+      "kind": "callees",
+      "query": "what does runCycle call",
+      "symbol": "runCycle",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/cycle.ts", "src/commands/sync.ts", "src/commands/embed.ts", "src/commands/extract.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "callees-003",
+      "kind": "callees",
+      "query": "what does code_blast call from request to db",
+      "symbol": "code_blast",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/operations.ts", "src/core/postgres-engine.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.3,
+      "note": "Post-v0.34 expectation; pre-v0.34 baseline returns nothing meaningful — expected behavior"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "def-001",
+      "kind": "definition",
+      "query": "where is hybridSearch defined",
+      "symbol": "hybridSearch",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/search/hybrid.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 1.0
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "def-002",
+      "kind": "definition",
+      "query": "where is runCycle defined",
+      "symbol": "runCycle",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/cycle.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 1.0
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "def-003",
+      "kind": "definition",
+      "query": "where is MinionQueue class defined",
+      "symbol": "MinionQueue",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/minions/queue.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 1.0
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "def-004",
+      "kind": "definition",
+      "query": "where is PGLiteEngine connect method",
+      "symbol": "PGLiteEngine.connect",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/pglite-engine.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 1.0
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "def-005",
+      "kind": "definition",
+      "query": "where is the trust boundary check for remote contexts",
+      "symbol": "OperationContext.remote",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/operations.ts", "src/mcp/dispatch.ts", "src/core/types.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "refs-001",
+      "kind": "references",
+      "query": "where is parseMarkdown used",
+      "symbol": "parseMarkdown",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/markdown.ts", "src/core/import-file.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.4
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "refs-002",
+      "kind": "references",
+      "query": "where is getStats used",
+      "symbol": "getStats",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/postgres-engine.ts", "src/core/pglite-engine.ts", "src/commands/serve-http.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "blast-001",
+      "kind": "blast_radius",
+      "query": "what breaks if I change the signature of performSync",
+      "symbol": "performSync",
+      "expected_files": ["src/commands/sync.ts", "src/core/cycle.ts", "src/commands/jobs.ts", "src/commands/autopilot.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "blast-002",
+      "kind": "blast_radius",
+      "query": "what breaks if I change OperationContext.sourceId",
+      "symbol": "OperationContext.sourceId",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/operations.ts", "src/mcp/dispatch.ts", "src/core/search/two-pass.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.4
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "blast-003",
+      "kind": "blast_radius",
+      "query": "what breaks if I rename minion_jobs.max_stalled column",
+      "symbol": "max_stalled",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/minions/queue.ts", "src/core/minions/types.ts", "src/core/migrate.ts", "src/core/pglite-schema.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "flow-001",
+      "kind": "execution_flow",
+      "query": "how does an MCP tool call flow from request to handler",
+      "symbol": "dispatchToolCall",
+      "expected_files": ["src/mcp/server.ts", "src/mcp/dispatch.ts", "src/core/operations.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.6
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "flow-002",
+      "kind": "execution_flow",
+      "query": "how does gbrain sync flow from cli to database write",
+      "symbol": "performSync",
+      "expected_files": ["src/commands/sync.ts", "src/core/sync.ts", "src/core/import-file.ts", "src/core/postgres-engine.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "flow-003",
+      "kind": "execution_flow",
+      "query": "how does a code_blast call flow to the database",
+      "symbol": "code_blast",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/operations.ts", "src/core/postgres-engine.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.3,
+      "note": "Post-v0.34 expectation; pre-v0.34 baseline returns nothing — expected"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "cluster-001",
+      "kind": "cluster_membership",
+      "query": "which functions cluster with hybridSearch",
+      "symbol": "hybridSearch",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/search/hybrid.ts", "src/core/search/expansion.ts", "src/core/search/intent.ts", "src/core/search/sql-ranking.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5,
+      "note": "Post-v0.34 expectation — clusters are new in v0.34"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "cluster-002",
+      "kind": "cluster_membership",
+      "query": "which functions cluster with runCycle",
+      "symbol": "runCycle",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/cycle.ts", "src/core/cycle/synthesize.ts", "src/core/cycle/patterns.ts", "src/core/cycle/emotional-weight.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5,
+      "note": "Post-v0.34 expectation"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "cross-cutting-001",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls applyForwardReferenceBootstrap",
+      "symbol": "applyForwardReferenceBootstrap",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/pglite-engine.ts", "src/core/postgres-engine.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.8
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "cross-cutting-002",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls sqlQueryForEngine",
+      "symbol": "sqlQueryForEngine",
+      "expected_files": ["src/commands/auth.ts", "src/commands/serve-http.ts", "src/core/oauth-provider.ts", "src/commands/files.ts", "src/mcp/http-transport.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "cross-cutting-003",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls summarizeMcpParams",
+      "symbol": "summarizeMcpParams",
+      "expected_files": ["src/mcp/dispatch.ts", "src/commands/serve-http.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.7
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "edge-001",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls extractEntityRefs",
+      "symbol": "extractEntityRefs",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/link-extraction.ts", "src/commands/extract.ts", "src/commands/backlinks.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.5
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "edge-002",
+      "kind": "callers",
+      "query": "what calls validateUploadPath",
+      "symbol": "validateUploadPath",
+      "expected_files": ["src/core/operations.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 0.6
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "edge-003",
+      "kind": "definition",
+      "query": "where is the gbrain serve http entrypoint",
+      "symbol": "runServeHttp",
+      "expected_files": ["src/commands/serve-http.ts"],
+      "expected_min_recall": 1.0
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/src/eval/code-retrieval/strategies.ts b/src/eval/code-retrieval/strategies.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..74918cf82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/eval/code-retrieval/strategies.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+/**
+ * v0.34 pre-w0 — retrieval strategies for the code-retrieval eval.
+ *
+ * Two strategies ship in the pre-w0 PR:
+ *   - baseline: query + search via hybridSearch (today's gbrain)
+ *   - with-code-intel: code_blast / code_flow / code_def / etc.
+ *
+ * The with-code-intel strategy is a stub until v0.34 W3 lands; the harness
+ * runs against it and produces a meaningful "what does v0.34 need to beat"
+ * number purely from the baseline. After W3 lands, the stub fills in and
+ * the gate becomes a real comparison.
+ *
+ * Strategies are split into their own module so the harness module stays
+ * engine-free and unit-testable.
+ */
+
+import type { BrainEngine } from '../../core/engine.ts';
+import { hybridSearch } from '../../core/search/hybrid.ts';
+import type { CodeQuestion, RetrievalStrategy } from './harness.ts';
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Baseline: hybridSearch over the same brain
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+export class BaselineStrategy implements RetrievalStrategy {
+  readonly mode = 'baseline' as const;
+
+  constructor(private readonly engine: BrainEngine, private readonly sourceId: string) {}
+
+  async retrieve(q: CodeQuestion, k: number): Promise<{ files: string[]; latency_ms: number }> {
+    const t0 = Date.now();
+    // Query string is the natural-language question. hybridSearch returns
+    // chunks; we collapse to unique file paths in rank order.
+    const results = await hybridSearch(this.engine, q.query, {
+      limit: Math.max(k * 3, 10), // overshoot to get distinct files
+      strategy: 'hybrid',
+      expand: false, // deterministic; no multi-query expansion
+    } as any);
+    const latency_ms = Date.now() - t0;
+    const filesSeen = new Set<string>();
+    const files: string[] = [];
+    for (const r of results) {
+      const path = pickFilePath(r);
+      if (!path) continue;
+      if (filesSeen.has(path)) continue;
+      filesSeen.add(path);
+      files.push(path);
+      if (files.length >= k) break;
+    }
+    return { files, latency_ms };
+  }
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// With-code-intel: code_blast / code_flow / etc.
+//
+// Until v0.34 W3 lands, this strategy falls through to a noop that
+// returns zero results. The eval harness handles empty results as
+// "question not answered" — which is the truth pre-W3.
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+export class WithCodeIntelStrategy implements RetrievalStrategy {
+  readonly mode = 'with-code-intel' as const;
+
+  constructor(private readonly engine: BrainEngine, private readonly sourceId: string) {}
+
+  async retrieve(q: CodeQuestion, k: number): Promise<{ files: string[]; latency_ms: number }> {
+    const t0 = Date.now();
+    // STUB: post-v0.34 W3 ships actual op handlers; until then, this strategy
+    // returns nothing. The harness records this as "answered: false" which
+    // is the honest pre-W3 baseline for this mode.
+    //
+    // When W3 lands, this method dispatches by question kind:
+    //   q.kind === 'callers' / 'blast_radius' → call code_blast op
+    //   q.kind === 'callees' / 'execution_flow' → call code_flow op
+    //   q.kind === 'definition' → call code_def op (MCP-exposed in W3)
+    //   q.kind === 'references' → call code_refs op
+    //   q.kind === 'cluster_membership' → call code_cluster_get op
+    //
+    // For now: noop.
+    const latency_ms = Date.now() - t0;
+    return { files: [], latency_ms };
+  }
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// File-path extraction from a search result
+//
+// Brain pages of kind 'code' carry the file path as the slug suffix
+// (e.g. slug `code/src/core/markdown.ts`). For non-code pages, we
+// skip — the eval is about code retrieval.
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function pickFilePath(result: any): string | null {
+  if (!result?.slug) return null;
+  const slug: string = result.slug;
+  if (slug.startsWith('code/')) {
+    return slug.slice('code/'.length);
+  }
+  // Some code pages may sit under different prefixes depending on source
+  // config; for now, only handle the canonical 'code/' prefix.
+  return null;
+}
diff --git a/test/code-retrieval-harness.test.ts b/test/code-retrieval-harness.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..874cc890b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/code-retrieval-harness.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
+/**
+ * v0.34 pre-w0 — unit tests for the code-retrieval eval harness.
+ *
+ * Pure-function metrics + loader + gate logic. No engine, no API, no fixture
+ * files outside the questions.json checked in alongside the harness.
+ */
+
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import {
+  precisionAtK,
+  recallAtK,
+  top1StabilityRate,
+  normalizeRetrieved,
+  expandExpectedToRelevantSet,
+  isFileRelevant,
+  loadQuestions,
+  evaluateGate,
+  DEFAULT_GATE,
+  type EvalRunReport,
+  type QuestionResult,
+} from '../src/eval/code-retrieval/harness.ts';
+
+describe('precisionAtK', () => {
+  test('returns 0 for empty retrieved set', () => {
+    expect(precisionAtK([], new Set(['a']), 5)).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('returns 1.0 when all top-k are relevant', () => {
+    expect(precisionAtK(['a', 'b', 'c'], new Set(['a', 'b', 'c']), 5)).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test('returns 0 when zero top-k are relevant', () => {
+    expect(precisionAtK(['x', 'y'], new Set(['a', 'b']), 5)).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('respects the k cutoff (only top-k considered)', () => {
+    // top-3 retrieved = ['a','b','c']; relevant = {'a','d'} → 1/3
+    expect(precisionAtK(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], new Set(['a', 'd']), 3)).toBeCloseTo(1 / 3);
+  });
+
+  test('k larger than retrieved length uses retrieved length', () => {
+    // retrieved length 2, k=5 → divide by 2
+    expect(precisionAtK(['a', 'b'], new Set(['a']), 5)).toBeCloseTo(1 / 2);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('recallAtK', () => {
+  test('returns 1.0 when relevant is empty (degenerate)', () => {
+    expect(recallAtK(['a', 'b'], new Set(), 5)).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test('returns 1.0 when all relevant are in top-k', () => {
+    expect(recallAtK(['a', 'b', 'c'], new Set(['a', 'b']), 5)).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test('returns 0 when none of relevant are in top-k', () => {
+    expect(recallAtK(['x', 'y', 'z'], new Set(['a', 'b']), 5)).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('returns half when 1/2 relevant in top-k', () => {
+    expect(recallAtK(['a', 'x'], new Set(['a', 'b']), 5)).toBeCloseTo(1 / 2);
+  });
+
+  test('respects the k cutoff', () => {
+    // top-2 = ['x','y']; relevant = {'a','b'} → recall=0; the third would be 'a' but k=2
+    expect(recallAtK(['x', 'y', 'a', 'b'], new Set(['a', 'b']), 2)).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('top1StabilityRate', () => {
+  test('returns 0 for empty runs', () => {
+    expect(top1StabilityRate([], [])).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('returns 1.0 when all top-1s match', () => {
+    const run1 = makeResults([{ id: 'q1', top_1: 'a' }, { id: 'q2', top_1: 'b' }]);
+    const run2 = makeResults([{ id: 'q1', top_1: 'a' }, { id: 'q2', top_1: 'b' }]);
+    expect(top1StabilityRate(run1, run2)).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test('returns 0 when no top-1s match', () => {
+    const run1 = makeResults([{ id: 'q1', top_1: 'a' }]);
+    const run2 = makeResults([{ id: 'q1', top_1: 'x' }]);
+    expect(top1StabilityRate(run1, run2)).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('ignores questions only in one run', () => {
+    const run1 = makeResults([{ id: 'q1', top_1: 'a' }, { id: 'q2', top_1: 'b' }]);
+    const run2 = makeResults([{ id: 'q1', top_1: 'a' }]); // missing q2
+    // Only q1 is comparable; stable = 1/1 = 1
+    expect(top1StabilityRate(run1, run2)).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test('null top_1 in one run counts as non-stable when other is non-null', () => {
+    const run1 = makeResults([{ id: 'q1', top_1: 'a' }]);
+    const run2 = makeResults([{ id: 'q1', top_1: null }]);
+    expect(top1StabilityRate(run1, run2)).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('normalizeRetrieved', () => {
+  test('dedupes while preserving order', () => {
+    expect(normalizeRetrieved(['a', 'b', 'a', 'c', 'b'])).toEqual(['a', 'b', 'c']);
+  });
+
+  test('drops empty strings', () => {
+    expect(normalizeRetrieved(['a', '', 'b'])).toEqual(['a', 'b']);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('expandExpectedToRelevantSet / isFileRelevant', () => {
+  test('exact file match', () => {
+    const exp = expandExpectedToRelevantSet(['src/foo.ts', 'src/bar.ts']);
+    expect(isFileRelevant('src/foo.ts', exp)).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFileRelevant('src/baz.ts', exp)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('directory prefix match (trailing slash)', () => {
+    const exp = expandExpectedToRelevantSet(['src/core/']);
+    expect(isFileRelevant('src/core/foo.ts', exp)).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFileRelevant('src/core/sub/bar.ts', exp)).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFileRelevant('src/other.ts', exp)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('mixed exact + directory expected', () => {
+    const exp = expandExpectedToRelevantSet(['src/foo.ts', 'src/core/']);
+    expect(isFileRelevant('src/foo.ts', exp)).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFileRelevant('src/core/bar.ts', exp)).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFileRelevant('src/other.ts', exp)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('loadQuestions', () => {
+  test('parses the v0.34 baseline questions.json', () => {
+    const file = loadQuestions('src/eval/code-retrieval/questions.json');
+    expect(file.version).toBe(1);
+    expect(file.corpus).toBe('gbrain');
+    expect(file.questions.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(12);
+    for (const q of file.questions) {
+      expect(q.id).toBeDefined();
+      expect(q.kind).toMatch(/^(callers|callees|definition|references|blast_radius|execution_flow|cluster_membership)$/);
+      expect(q.query.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+      expect(q.symbol.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+      expect(Array.isArray(q.expected_files)).toBe(true);
+      expect(q.expected_min_recall).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+      expect(q.expected_min_recall).toBeLessThanOrEqual(1);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('throws on missing file', () => {
+    expect(() => loadQuestions('/tmp/does-not-exist-XXXX.json')).toThrow(/not found/);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('evaluateGate', () => {
+  test('PASS when precision delta clears bar AND enough cleared bar', () => {
+    const baseline = makeReport('baseline', 0.4, 0.5, 20); // 20 questions, 50% answered
+    const withCI = makeReport('with-code-intel', 0.55, 0.85, 20); // +15pp precision, 85% answered
+    const gate = evaluateGate(baseline, withCI, {
+      required_precision_delta_pp: 10,
+      required_top_1_stability_delta: 0.15,
+      min_questions_cleared: 15,
+    });
+    expect(gate.passed).toBe(true);
+    expect(gate.precision_delta_pp).toBeCloseTo(15, 5);
+  });
+
+  test('FAIL when not enough questions cleared bar (despite precision delta)', () => {
+    const baseline = makeReport('baseline', 0.4, 0.5, 30);
+    const withCI = makeReport('with-code-intel', 0.6, 0.4, 30); // good precision, fewer answered
+    const gate = evaluateGate(baseline, withCI, {
+      required_precision_delta_pp: 10,
+      required_top_1_stability_delta: 0.15,
+      min_questions_cleared: 15,
+    });
+    expect(gate.passed).toBe(false);
+    expect(gate.summary).toContain('only ');
+  });
+
+  test('PASS via answered_rate delta even when precision delta is below bar', () => {
+    const baseline = makeReport('baseline', 0.4, 0.5, 30);
+    const withCI = makeReport('with-code-intel', 0.45, 0.7, 30); // +5pp precision (fail) but +20pp answered (pass)
+    const gate = evaluateGate(baseline, withCI, {
+      required_precision_delta_pp: 10,
+      required_top_1_stability_delta: 0.15,
+      min_questions_cleared: 15,
+    });
+    expect(gate.passed).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('default opts match constants', () => {
+    expect(DEFAULT_GATE.required_precision_delta_pp).toBe(10);
+    expect(DEFAULT_GATE.required_top_1_stability_delta).toBe(0.15);
+    expect(DEFAULT_GATE.min_questions_cleared).toBe(15);
+  });
+});
+
+// ─── helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function makeResults(items: Array<{ id: string; top_1: string | null }>): QuestionResult[] {
+  return items.map((it) => ({
+    id: it.id,
+    kind: 'callers' as const,
+    retrieved_files: it.top_1 ? [it.top_1] : [],
+    top_1: it.top_1,
+    precision_at_k: it.top_1 ? 1 : 0,
+    recall_at_k: it.top_1 ? 1 : 0,
+    answered: !!it.top_1,
+    latency_ms: 1,
+  }));
+}
+
+function makeReport(
+  mode: 'baseline' | 'with-code-intel',
+  meanPrecision: number,
+  answeredRate: number,
+  totalQuestions: number,
+): EvalRunReport {
+  const answeredCount = Math.round(answeredRate * totalQuestions);
+  const questions: QuestionResult[] = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < totalQuestions; i++) {
+    questions.push({
+      id: `q${i}`,
+      kind: 'callers' as const,
+      retrieved_files: ['fakefile.ts'],
+      top_1: 'fakefile.ts',
+      precision_at_k: meanPrecision,
+      recall_at_k: 0.5,
+      answered: i < answeredCount,
+      latency_ms: 1,
+    });
+  }
+  return {
+    mode,
+    schema_version: 1,
+    corpus: 'fake',
+    k: 5,
+    questions,
+    mean_precision_at_k: meanPrecision,
+    answered_rate: answeredRate,
+    total_latency_ms: totalQuestions,
+    captured_at: '2026-05-10T00:00:00Z',
+    commit: 'abc1234',
+  };
+}