diff --git a/.planning/evidence/2026-08-08-orphan-companions-pre-deploy.md b/.planning/evidence/2026-08-08-orphan-companions-pre-deploy.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e321b3ae
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+++ b/.planning/evidence/2026-08-08-orphan-companions-pre-deploy.md
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# Pre-deploy orphan-companion evidence — captured 2026-08-08T11:08:59Z
+
+## Backends present?
+lnd              EXISTS
+fedimint         ABSENT
+bitcoin-knots    EXISTS
+electrumx        EXISTS
+
+## Companion containers
+archy-lnd-ui	Up 2 days
+fips-ui	Up 2 days (healthy)
+archy-fedimint-ui	Up 13 hours
+archy-electrs-ui	Up 2 hours
+archy-bitcoin-ui	Up About a minute
+
+## Companion systemd units
+UNIT                      LOAD   ACTIVE SUB     DESCRIPTION
+archy-bitcoin-ui.service  loaded active running Archipelago companion UI: archy-bitcoin-ui
+archy-btcpay-db.service   loaded active running Archipelago app: archy-btcpay-db
+archy-electrs-ui.service  loaded active running Archipelago companion UI: archy-electrs-ui
+archy-fedimint-ui.service loaded active running Archipelago companion UI: archy-fedimint-ui
+archy-lnd-ui.service      loaded active running Archipelago companion UI: archy-lnd-ui
+archy-nbxplorer.service   loaded active running Archipelago app: archy-nbxplorer
+
+Legend: LOAD   → Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.
+        ACTIVE → The high-level unit activation state, i.e. generalization of SUB.
+
+## Quadlet unit files
+archy-bitcoin-ui.container
+archy-electrs-ui.container
+archy-fedimint-ui.container
+archy-lnd-ui.container
+archy-lnd-ui.container.bak-20260506061414
+fedimint-clientd.container
+fips-ui.container
+lnd.container
diff --git a/.planning/phases/13-aiui-functional-conversational-node-control-and-content-surf/13-UAT.md b/.planning/phases/13-aiui-functional-conversational-node-control-and-content-surf/13-UAT.md
index 91e33287..683286fa 100644
--- a/.planning/phases/13-aiui-functional-conversational-node-control-and-content-surf/13-UAT.md
+++ b/.planning/phases/13-aiui-functional-conversational-node-control-and-content-surf/13-UAT.md
@@ -54,3 +54,53 @@ tree's `dist/`, never by grepping the never-pruned `assets/` graveyard on disk.
   phase's close work; recorded in W1.7 of the assessment fix plan.
 - Console noise items (wavlake/itunes CSP on enrichment, sw.js SSL on self-signed) tracked
   in the open task list.
+
+---
+
+## Addendum — 2026-08-08: this record is stale, and the node is not running this branch
+
+**The phase is NOT closed. Do not mark 13-15 complete from the record above.**
+
+### The deployed surface no longer matches the build under test
+
+13-15's gate is explicit that "the deployed surface is checked, not only the source". That
+half of the gate is currently void: `/usr/local/bin/archipelago` on archi-dev-box is dated
+2026-08-08 03:20 and is a build of **`main`**, not of this branch. Evidence: `strings` on the
+deployed binary finds no `app_uninstall` (added by this branch's `7686a486`, confirmed
+branch-exclusive via `git branch --contains`), and the sudo journal shows the per-app
+ownership hooks chowning unconditionally with no `stat -c %u:%g` drift-gate calls — i.e.
+`b9e64eb6` / `db8937f9` / `ca106c5a` / `b8869307` are absent.
+
+So every row in the table above was verified against a binary the node **no longer runs**.
+The node has silently reverted to a tree 417 commits behind this branch. Re-verification is
+required after a redeploy; nothing above can be carried forward on trust.
+
+### Row 2 (content grid) — the premise changed after this record was written
+
+The table records scope `own` only (18 items, "13 Images"). 13-15's check 2 asks for **real
+peer/owned files**, which `own` alone cannot discharge. Since `482c4e30`:
+
+- `05b459a6` + `9abc1623` made `requestArchyAllContent()` fetch `own`, paint, then fold in
+  `owned` and `peers` as each resolves — deduped by id, through a single `setArchyContent`
+  sink, called from `init()`. Operator decision 2026-08-08 confirmed auto-load-at-init is the
+  intended behaviour.
+- The 2026-08-06 note claiming "no call passes `peers` or `owned`; they exist only in type
+  signatures" is therefore **obsolete** and should not be re-derived from it.
+
+Check 2 remains **unverified on device**. It is a code-complete, verification-pending row.
+
+### What completing this gate requires
+
+1. Merge `gitea-ai/main` into this branch (the open-source workstream, 63 commits) and rebuild.
+2. Deploy that build to archi-dev-box — binary **and** both frontends.
+3. Re-run rows 1–11 above; they are void against the current deployment.
+4. Discharge check 2 specifically: peer and owned content reaching the grid, images bucket
+   rendering, audio going to the bottom bar rather than the lightbox.
+5. Do the real-handheld pass, still owed from the original record.
+6. Only then write `13-15-SUMMARY.md`, flip `13-VALIDATION.md`'s `status:` from `draft` to
+   `validated`, and close the phase.
+
+Two new lifecycle fixes land with this branch and want their own device checks at the same
+time: the companion reaper (orphaned `archy-fedimint-ui` should disappear ~5 min after start
+while `archy-bitcoin-ui` survives) and `Restart=always` on backend units (a `podman stop` of
+a backend should see systemd restore it within ~10s instead of leaving it deleted).