diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PriorityBadge.vue b/frontend/src/components/PriorityBadge.vue
index 8314db2..a370c85 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PriorityBadge.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PriorityBadge.vue
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ import type { TaskPriority } from "@/types/task";
 
 const props = defineProps<{
   priority: TaskPriority;
+  /** Dense surfaces — see StatusBadge. */
+  compact?: boolean;
 }>();
 
 const labels: Record<TaskPriority, string> = {
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ const labels: Record<TaskPriority, string> = {
 <template>
   <span
     v-if="props.priority !== 'none'"
-    :class="['priority-badge', `priority-${props.priority}`]"
+    :class="['priority-badge', `priority-${props.priority}`, { compact }]"
   >
     {{ labels[props.priority] }}
   </span>
@@ -28,10 +30,18 @@ const labels: Record<TaskPriority, string> = {
   padding: 0.15rem 0.5rem;
   border-radius: 12px;
   font-size: 0.75rem;
-  font-weight: 600;
+  /* 500 is the heaviest the house style goes — 400 and 500 only. */
+  font-weight: 500;
   text-transform: uppercase;
   letter-spacing: 0.025em;
 }
+.compact {
+  padding: 1px 7px;
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  font-size: 0.7rem;
+  text-transform: none;
+  letter-spacing: normal;
+}
 .priority-low {
   background: var(--fs-priority-low-bg);
   color: var(--fs-priority-low-fg);
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ProjectStatusBadge.vue b/frontend/src/components/ProjectStatusBadge.vue
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e66087
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ProjectStatusBadge.vue
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+<script setup lang="ts">
+/**
+ * A PROJECT's lifecycle state as a pill — active, paused, completed, archived.
+ *
+ * Deliberately not StatusBadge. That component is typed to TaskStatus and
+ * speaks a different vocabulary; these two only ever shared a CSS class name,
+ * which is what made them look like one shape that had drifted (#3132).
+ *
+ * Extracted because ProjectView and ProjectListView really were spelling the
+ * same pill twice, with the differences you get from two hands rather than
+ * two intentions: 0.68rem against 0.7rem, a 14% tint against 15%, one with a
+ * border and one without.
+ */
+const props = defineProps<{ status: string }>();
+
+const LABELS: Record<string, string> = {
+  active: "Active",
+  paused: "Paused",
+  completed: "Completed",
+  archived: "Archived",
+};
+
+const label = (s: string) => LABELS[s] ?? s;
+</script>
+
+<template>
+  <span :class="['project-status', `project-status--${props.status}`]">
+    {{ label(props.status) }}
+  </span>
+</template>
+
+<style scoped>
+.project-status {
+  font-size: 0.7rem;
+  font-weight: 500;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  letter-spacing: 0.04em;
+  padding: 0.15rem 0.5rem;
+  border-radius: var(--fs-radius-pill);
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+/* Text is the hue mixed toward --fs-text-primary, not the raw hue. Both old
+   spellings painted the hue on a 15% tint of itself, which measured 1.61-2.39:1
+   against AA's 4.5 — the same defect the status and priority ladders had, and
+   invisible to the token checker because the background was an inline
+   color-mix rather than a `-bg` token. The checker was widened alongside this.
+   Measured worst-case over raised and hover in both modes: active 4.82:1,
+   paused 4.63:1, completed 4.78:1, archived 4.84:1.
+   No new design tokens: four values used by one component are the kind of
+   growth Scribe's own design-system note warns about ("if this system grows
+   past a handful of tokens, that is worth noticing rather than
+   accommodating"). The derivation is stated once, here. */
+.project-status--active {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-success) 15%, transparent);
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-success) 45%, var(--fs-text-primary));
+}
+.project-status--paused {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-warning) 15%, transparent);
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-warning) 55%, var(--fs-text-primary));
+}
+.project-status--completed {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 15%, transparent);
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 45%, var(--fs-text-primary));
+}
+.project-status--archived {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-text-tertiary) 15%, transparent);
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-text-tertiary) 55%, var(--fs-text-primary));
+}
+</style>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/StatusBadge.vue b/frontend/src/components/StatusBadge.vue
index f818178..5037f3b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/StatusBadge.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/StatusBadge.vue
@@ -4,13 +4,16 @@ import type { TaskStatus } from "@/types/task";
 const props = defineProps<{
   status: TaskStatus;
   clickable?: boolean;
+  /** Dense surfaces — smaller, unshouted. The canon (#2960) names compact a
+      VARIANT of this component rather than a reason to re-spell it. */
+  compact?: boolean;
 }>();
 
 defineEmits<{ click: [] }>();
 
 const labels: Record<TaskStatus, string> = {
   todo: "Todo",
-  in_progress: "In Progress",
+  in_progress: "In progress",
   done: "Done",
   cancelled: "Cancelled",
 };
@@ -18,7 +21,7 @@ const labels: Record<TaskStatus, string> = {
 
 <template>
   <span
-    :class="['status-badge', `status-${props.status}`, { clickable }]"
+    :class="['status-badge', `status-${props.status}`, { clickable, compact }]"
     @click="clickable ? $emit('click') : undefined"
     :role="clickable ? 'button' : undefined"
     :tabindex="clickable ? 0 : undefined"
@@ -33,7 +36,8 @@ const labels: Record<TaskStatus, string> = {
   padding: 0.15rem 0.5rem;
   border-radius: 12px;
   font-size: 0.75rem;
-  font-weight: 600;
+  /* 500 is the heaviest the house style goes — 400 and 500 only. */
+  font-weight: 500;
   text-transform: uppercase;
   letter-spacing: 0.025em;
 }
@@ -57,6 +61,13 @@ const labels: Record<TaskStatus, string> = {
   background: var(--fs-status-todo-bg);
   color: var(--fs-status-cancelled-fg);
 }
+.compact {
+  padding: 1px 7px;
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  font-size: 0.7rem;
+  text-transform: none;
+  letter-spacing: normal;
+}
 .clickable {
   cursor: pointer;
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/TaskCard.vue b/frontend/src/components/TaskCard.vue
deleted file mode 100644
index 52e4238..0000000
--- a/frontend/src/components/TaskCard.vue
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,238 +0,0 @@
-<script setup lang="ts">
-import type { Task, TaskStatus } from "@/types/task";
-import StatusBadge from "@/components/StatusBadge.vue";
-import PriorityBadge from "@/components/PriorityBadge.vue";
-import TagPill from "@/components/TagPill.vue";
-import { relativeTime } from "@/composables/useRelativeTime";
-import { renderPreview } from "@/utils/markdown";
-
-const props = defineProps<{
-  task: Task;
-  compact?: boolean;
-  projectTitle?: string;
-}>();
-const emit = defineEmits<{
-  "tag-click": [tag: string];
-  "status-toggle": [id: number, status: TaskStatus];
-}>();
-
-const statusCycle: Record<TaskStatus, TaskStatus> = {
-  todo: "in_progress",
-  in_progress: "done",
-  done: "todo",
-  cancelled: "todo",
-};
-
-const statusDotClass: Record<TaskStatus, string> = {
-  todo: "dot-todo",
-  in_progress: "dot-in-progress",
-  done: "dot-done",
-  cancelled: "dot-cancelled",
-};
-
-const statusTitle: Record<TaskStatus, string> = {
-  todo: "Todo — click to mark In Progress",
-  in_progress: "In Progress — click to mark Done",
-  done: "Done — click to mark Todo",
-  cancelled: "Cancelled — click to mark Todo",
-};
-
-function cycleStatus() {
-  emit("status-toggle", props.task.id, statusCycle[props.task.status!]);
-}
-
-
-function isOverdue(): boolean {
-  if (!props.task.due_date || props.task.status === "done") return false;
-  const today = new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10);
-  return props.task.due_date < today;
-}
-</script>
-
-<template>
-  <router-link :to="`/tasks/${task.id}`" :class="['task-card', { compact }]">
-
-    <!-- Compact: single row -->
-    <template v-if="compact">
-      <button
-        :class="['status-dot', statusDotClass[task.status!]]"
-        :title="statusTitle[task.status!]"
-        @click.prevent.stop="cycleStatus"
-      ></button>
-      <PriorityBadge :priority="task.priority!" />
-      <span class="task-title-compact">{{ task.title || "Untitled" }}</span>
-      <span v-if="projectTitle" class="project-crumb">{{ projectTitle }}</span>
-      <div class="task-tags-compact">
-        <TagPill
-          v-for="tag in task.tags?.slice(0, 2)"
-          :key="tag"
-          :tag="tag"
-          @click.stop="emit('tag-click', tag)"
-        />
-      </div>
-      <span v-if="task.due_date" :class="['due-compact', { overdue: isOverdue() }]">
-        {{ task.due_date }}
-      </span>
-    </template>
-
-    <!-- Full: original layout -->
-    <template v-else>
-      <div class="task-top">
-        <StatusBadge
-          :status="task.status!"
-          clickable
-          @click.prevent.stop="cycleStatus"
-        />
-        <PriorityBadge :priority="task.priority!" />
-        <h3 class="task-title">{{ task.title || "Untitled" }}</h3>
-      </div>
-      <div v-if="task.body" class="task-preview prose" v-html="renderPreview(task.body)"></div>
-      <div class="task-meta">
-        <span v-if="task.due_date" :class="['due-date', { overdue: isOverdue() }]">
-          Due: {{ task.due_date }}
-        </span>
-        <TagPill
-          v-for="tag in task.tags"
-          :key="tag"
-          :tag="tag"
-          @click.stop="emit('tag-click', tag)"
-        />
-        <span class="timestamp">{{ relativeTime(task.updated_at) }}</span>
-      </div>
-    </template>
-
-  </router-link>
-</template>
-
-<style scoped>
-.task-card {
-  display: block;
-  padding: 1rem;
-  border-radius: var(--fs-radius-lg);
-  text-decoration: none;
-  color: inherit;
-  background: var(--fs-surface-raised);
-  box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06), 0 0 0 1px color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 6%, transparent);
-  transition: box-shadow 0.2s, transform 0.18s ease;
-}
-.task-card:hover {
-  box-shadow: 0 4px 16px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.10), 0 0 0 1px color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 14.0%, transparent);
-  transform: translateY(-2px);
-}
-
-/* Compact single-row layout */
-.task-card.compact {
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 0.5rem;
-  padding: 0.45rem 0.85rem;
-}
-
-/* Status dot */
-.status-dot {
-  flex-shrink: 0;
-  width: 12px;
-  height: 12px;
-  border-radius: 50%;
-  border: none;
-  cursor: pointer;
-  padding: 0;
-  transition: transform 0.1s, opacity 0.1s;
-}
-.status-dot:hover {
-  transform: scale(1.25);
-  opacity: 0.8;
-}
-.dot-todo {
-  background: var(--fs-status-todo);
-  border: 2px solid var(--fs-status-todo);
-  background: transparent;
-  border: 2px solid var(--fs-text-tertiary);
-}
-.dot-in-progress {
-  background: var(--fs-status-in-progress);
-}
-.dot-done {
-  background: var(--fs-status-done);
-}
-.dot-cancelled {
-  background: var(--fs-status-cancelled);
-}
-
-.task-title-compact {
-  font-size: 0.9rem;
-  font-weight: 500;
-  flex: 1;
-  min-width: 0;
-  overflow: hidden;
-  text-overflow: ellipsis;
-  white-space: nowrap;
-}
-.project-crumb {
-  font-size: 0.75rem;
-  color: var(--fs-text-tertiary);
-  background: var(--fs-surface-raised);
-  border: 1px solid var(--fs-border-color);
-  border-radius: var(--fs-radius-sm);
-  padding: 0.1rem 0.4rem;
-  white-space: nowrap;
-  flex-shrink: 0;
-}
-.task-tags-compact {
-  display: flex;
-  gap: 0.25rem;
-  flex-shrink: 0;
-}
-.due-compact {
-  font-size: 0.75rem;
-  color: var(--fs-text-tertiary);
-  white-space: nowrap;
-  flex-shrink: 0;
-}
-.due-compact.overdue {
-  color: var(--fs-error);
-  font-weight: 600;
-}
-/* Full layout */
-.task-top {
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 0.5rem;
-  margin-bottom: 0.25rem;
-}
-.task-title {
-  margin: 0;
-  font-size: 1.1rem;
-  flex: 1;
-  min-width: 0;
-  overflow: hidden;
-  text-overflow: ellipsis;
-  white-space: nowrap;
-}
-.task-preview {
-  margin: 0 0 0.5rem;
-  color: var(--fs-text-secondary);
-  font-size: 0.9rem;
-  max-height: 7.5em;
-  overflow: hidden;
-}
-.task-meta {
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 0.5rem;
-  flex-wrap: wrap;
-}
-.due-date {
-  font-size: 0.8rem;
-  color: var(--fs-text-secondary);
-}
-.due-date.overdue {
-  color: var(--fs-overdue);
-  font-weight: 600;
-}
-.timestamp {
-  margin-left: auto;
-  font-size: 0.75rem;
-  color: var(--fs-text-tertiary);
-}
-</style>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/WorkspaceTaskPanel.vue b/frontend/src/components/WorkspaceTaskPanel.vue
index 982a5cc..f8b101e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/WorkspaceTaskPanel.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/WorkspaceTaskPanel.vue
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ defineExpose({ reload: loadAll });
       <div v-if="activeTask" class="task-detail">
         <div class="detail-header">
           <RouterLink :to="`/tasks/${activeTask.id}/edit`" target="_blank" class="btn-text btn-edit-task" title="Open full editor">Edit ↗</RouterLink>
-          <span :class="['status-badge', `status-${activeTask.status}`]" @click="cycleStatus(activeTask, $event)" title="Click to cycle status">
+          <span :class="['status-cycler', `status-${activeTask.status}`]" @click="cycleStatus(activeTask, $event)" title="Click to cycle status">
             {{ STATUS_ICON[activeTask.status] ?? "○" }} {{ activeTask.status.replace("_", " ") }}
           </span>
           <template v-if="deleteConfirmPending">
@@ -501,7 +501,10 @@ defineExpose({ reload: loadAll });
   flex-shrink: 0;
 }
 
-.status-badge {
+/* An interactive CYCLER, not a chip: it is clickable, outlined and
+   transparent. It shared a name with the task chip and was never the same
+   shape (#3132). */
+.status-cycler {
   padding: 0.2rem 0.55rem;
   border-radius: 12px;
   font-size: 0.75rem;
@@ -513,8 +516,8 @@ defineExpose({ reload: loadAll });
   user-select: none;
   margin-left: auto;
 }
-.status-badge.status-in_progress { border-color: var(--fs-accent); color: var(--fs-accent); background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 10%, transparent); }
-.status-badge.status-done { border-color: var(--fs-success); color: var(--fs-success); background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-success) 10%, transparent); }
+.status-cycler.status-in_progress { border-color: var(--fs-accent); color: var(--fs-accent); background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 10%, transparent); }
+.status-cycler.status-done { border-color: var(--fs-success); color: var(--fs-success); background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-success) 10%, transparent); }
 
 .btn-edit-task { margin-left: 0.25rem; }
 .btn-edit-task:hover { text-decoration: underline; }
diff --git a/frontend/src/views/KnowledgeView.vue b/frontend/src/views/KnowledgeView.vue
index 7d720c9..bb38f57 100644
--- a/frontend/src/views/KnowledgeView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/views/KnowledgeView.vue
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
 import { ref, computed, watch, onMounted, onUnmounted, nextTick } from "vue";
 import { useRouter } from "vue-router";
 import { apiGet } from "@/api/client";
-import type { TaskKind } from "@/types/note";
+import type { TaskKind, TaskStatus, TaskPriority } from "@/types/note";
 import KindBadge from "@/components/KindBadge.vue";
+import StatusBadge from "@/components/StatusBadge.vue";
+import PriorityBadge from "@/components/PriorityBadge.vue";
 import GraphView from "@/views/GraphView.vue";
 import {
   FileText,
@@ -513,14 +515,12 @@ onUnmounted(() => {
               <!-- Task specifics -->
               <div v-if="item.note_type === 'task'" class="k-card-task">
                 <div class="task-badges">
-                  <span class="status-badge" :class="`status--${item.status}`">
-                    {{ item.status === 'in_progress' ? 'in progress' : item.status }}
-                  </span>
-                  <span
+                  <StatusBadge v-if="item.status" :status="item.status as TaskStatus" compact />
+                  <PriorityBadge
                     v-if="item.priority && item.priority !== 'none'"
-                    class="priority-badge"
-                    :class="`priority--${item.priority}`"
-                  >{{ item.priority }}</span>
+                    :priority="item.priority as TaskPriority"
+                    compact
+                  />
                 </div>
                 <span
                   v-if="item.due_date"
@@ -940,26 +940,7 @@ onUnmounted(() => {
   gap: 5px;
   flex-wrap: wrap;
 }
-.status-badge {
-  font-size: 0.7rem;
-  padding: 1px 7px;
-  border-radius: 8px;
-  font-weight: 500;
-}
-.status--todo { background: var(--fs-status-todo-bg); color: var(--fs-status-todo-fg); }
-.status--in_progress { background: var(--fs-status-in-progress-bg); color: var(--fs-status-in-progress-fg); }
-.status--done { background: var(--fs-status-done-bg); color: var(--fs-status-done-fg); }
-.status--cancelled { background: var(--fs-status-todo-bg); color: var(--fs-status-cancelled-fg); text-decoration: line-through; }
 
-.priority-badge {
-  font-size: 0.7rem;
-  padding: 1px 7px;
-  border-radius: 8px;
-  font-weight: 500;
-}
-.priority--low { background: var(--fs-priority-low-bg); color: var(--fs-priority-low-fg); }
-.priority--normal { background: var(--fs-priority-medium-bg); color: var(--fs-priority-medium-fg); }
-.priority--high { background: var(--fs-priority-high-bg); color: var(--fs-priority-high-fg); }
 
 .task-due {
   font-size: 0.78rem;
diff --git a/frontend/src/views/ProjectListView.vue b/frontend/src/views/ProjectListView.vue
index d373e2a..08cc006 100644
--- a/frontend/src/views/ProjectListView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/views/ProjectListView.vue
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import { ref, computed, onMounted } from "vue";
 import { useRouter } from "vue-router";
 import { apiGet, apiPost, apiErrorMessage } from "@/api/client";
+import ProjectStatusBadge from "@/components/ProjectStatusBadge.vue";
 import { emptyChoices, type InceptionChoices } from "@/api/inception";
 import InceptionCard from "@/components/InceptionCard.vue";
 import { useToastStore } from "@/stores/toast";
@@ -109,13 +110,6 @@ async function createProject() {
   }
 }
 
-function statusLabel(status: Project["status"]): string {
-  if (status === "active") return "Active";
-  if (status === "paused") return "Paused";
-  if (status === "completed") return "Completed";
-  if (status === "archived") return "Archived";
-  return status;
-}
 
 function truncate(text: string | null, max = 120): string {
   if (!text) return "";
@@ -210,9 +204,7 @@ function overallPct(project: Project): { total: number; pct: number } {
       >
         <div class="card-header">
           <span class="project-title">{{ project.title }}</span>
-          <span
-            :class="['status-badge', `status-${project.status}`]"
-          >{{ statusLabel(project.status) }}</span>
+          <ProjectStatusBadge :status="project.status" />
         </div>
         <p v-if="project.goal" class="project-goal">
           <span class="field-label">Goal:</span> {{ truncate(project.goal) }}
@@ -430,28 +422,6 @@ function overallPct(project: Project): { total: number; pct: number } {
   word-break: break-word;
 }
 
-.status-badge {
-  font-size: 0.7rem;
-  font-weight: 500;
-  text-transform: uppercase;
-  letter-spacing: 0.04em;
-  padding: 0.15rem 0.45rem;
-  border-radius: 999px;
-  flex-shrink: 0;
-  white-space: nowrap;
-}
-.status-active {
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-success) 15%, transparent);
-  color: var(--fs-success);
-}
-.status-completed {
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 15%, transparent);
-  color: var(--fs-accent);
-}
-.status-archived {
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-text-tertiary) 15%, transparent);
-  color: var(--fs-text-tertiary);
-}
 
 .project-goal {
   font-size: 0.875rem;
diff --git a/frontend/src/views/ProjectView.vue b/frontend/src/views/ProjectView.vue
index 82e50e7..512d677 100644
--- a/frontend/src/views/ProjectView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/views/ProjectView.vue
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { relativeTime } from "@/composables/useRelativeTime";
 import { renderMarkdown } from "@/utils/markdown";
 import ShareDialog from "@/components/ShareDialog.vue";
 import KindBadge from "@/components/KindBadge.vue";
+import ProjectStatusBadge from "@/components/ProjectStatusBadge.vue";
 import type { TaskKind } from "@/types/note";
 import ProjectDesignTab from "@/components/ProjectDesignTab.vue";
 import ProjectRulesTab from "@/components/rules/ProjectRulesTab.vue";
@@ -696,9 +697,7 @@ async function confirmDelete() {
       <div class="project-header">
         <div class="title-row">
           <input v-model="editTitle" type="text" class="project-title-input" placeholder="Project title" />
-          <span :class="['status-badge', `status-${project.status}`]">
-            {{ project.status.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + project.status.slice(1) }}
-          </span>
+          <ProjectStatusBadge :status="project.status" />
         </div>
         <p v-if="project.goal" class="project-goal">{{ project.goal }}</p>
         <p v-if="project.summary?.last_activity" class="project-activity">
@@ -1240,19 +1239,6 @@ async function confirmDelete() {
 .project-title-input:focus { border-bottom-color: var(--fs-accent); }
 .project-title-input::placeholder { color: var(--fs-text-tertiary); font-weight: 400; }
 
-.status-badge {
-  font-size: 0.68rem;
-  font-weight: 500;
-  text-transform: uppercase;
-  letter-spacing: 0.05em;
-  padding: 0.18rem 0.55rem;
-  border-radius: 999px;
-  flex-shrink: 0;
-}
-.status-active   { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-success) 14%, transparent); color: var(--fs-success); border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-success) 30%, transparent); }
-.status-paused    { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-warning) 14%, transparent); color: var(--fs-warning); border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-warning) 30%, transparent); }
-.status-completed { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 14%, transparent); color: var(--fs-accent); border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-accent) 30%, transparent); }
-.status-archived  { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-text-tertiary) 14%, transparent); color: var(--fs-text-tertiary); border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-text-tertiary) 30%, transparent); }
 
 .project-goal {
   font-size: 1rem;
diff --git a/scripts/check_design_tokens.py b/scripts/check_design_tokens.py
index 43a11e0..6670c7e 100644
--- a/scripts/check_design_tokens.py
+++ b/scripts/check_design_tokens.py
@@ -106,14 +106,36 @@ SAME_TOKEN_PAIR = re.compile(
 )
 
 
-def same_hue_text_on_tint(css: str) -> list[str]:
-    """Tokens used as TEXT on a tint of themselves, within one rule block."""
-    hits = []
+def same_hue_text_on_tint(css: str) -> tuple[list[str], list[str]]:
+    """Tokens used as TEXT on a tint of themselves, within one rule block.
+
+    TWO SPELLINGS of the same background, because the first version of this
+    check only knew the first and missed four live instances:
+
+      background: var(--fs-X-bg)                       the token
+      background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fs-X) N%, transparent)   inline
+
+    The inline form is what the project-status pills used, and it is the more
+    dangerous of the two — it does not even name a `-bg` token, so nothing
+    about it looks like the pattern until you measure it.
+
+    Returned separately because they are at different stages. The token form
+    is CLEAN and therefore gates. The inline form has a live backlog (48 sites
+    when this split was written, 26 of them --fs-accent), so it reports with a
+    count: a gate nobody can satisfy today gets switched off, and then it
+    guards nothing.
+    """
+    token_form, inline_form = [], []
     for body in re.findall(r"\{([^{}]*)\}", css):
         fg = set(re.findall(r"color\s*:\s*var\(\s*(--fs-[\w-]+?)\s*\)", body))
-        bg = set(re.findall(r"background(?:-color)?\s*:\s*var\(\s*(--fs-[\w-]+?)-bg\s*\)", body))
-        hits.extend(sorted(fg & bg))
-    return hits
+        bg_tok = set(re.findall(r"background(?:-color)?\s*:\s*var\(\s*(--fs-[\w-]+?)-bg\s*\)", body))
+        bg_inl = set(re.findall(
+            r"background(?:-color)?\s*:\s*color-mix\([^;]*?var\(\s*(--fs-[\w-]+?)\s*\)[^;]*?\)",
+            body,
+        ))
+        token_form.extend(sorted(fg & bg_tok))
+        inline_form.extend(sorted(fg & (bg_inl - bg_tok)))
+    return token_form, inline_form
 
 
 def main() -> int:
@@ -144,6 +166,7 @@ def main() -> int:
 
     unresolved: list[tuple[pathlib.Path, str]] = []
     same_hue_hits: list[tuple[pathlib.Path, str]] = []
+    inline_tint_hits: list[tuple[pathlib.Path, str]] = []
     superseded_hits: list[tuple[pathlib.Path, str, str]] = []
     literal_count = 0
 
@@ -167,8 +190,11 @@ def main() -> int:
 
         literal_count += len(HEX_LITERAL.findall(css))
 
-        for tok in same_hue_text_on_tint(css):
+        tok_hits, inl_hits = same_hue_text_on_tint(css)
+        for tok in tok_hits:
             same_hue_hits.append((path, tok))
+        for tok in inl_hits:
+            inline_tint_hits.append((path, tok))
 
     if unresolved:
         print(f"FAIL — {len(unresolved)} unresolvable var() reference(s).")
@@ -203,7 +229,17 @@ def main() -> int:
             print(f"    {path}: color: var({tok}) on var({tok}-bg) -> var({tok}-fg)")
         print()
     else:
-        print("OK — no text painted with a token on a tint of itself.\n")
+        print("OK — no text painted with a token on a tint of its own -bg.\n")
+
+    if inline_tint_hits:
+        by_tok: dict[str, int] = {}
+        for _p, tok in inline_tint_hits:
+            by_tok[tok] = by_tok.get(tok, 0) + 1
+        print(f"REPORT — {len(inline_tint_hits)} rule(s) paint text with a token on "
+              f"an INLINE color-mix tint of that same token.")
+        print("  Same defect, spelled without a -bg token so it does not gate yet.")
+        print("  Worst offenders: " + ", ".join(
+            f"{t} x{n}" for t, n in sorted(by_tok.items(), key=lambda kv: -kv[1])[:4]) + "\n")
 
     if args.report_literals:
         print(f"REPORT — {literal_count} raw colour literal(s) in component CSS.")