diff --git a/alembic/versions/0027_checklist_items_into_body.py b/alembic/versions/0027_checklist_items_into_body.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed6e5d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/alembic/versions/0027_checklist_items_into_body.py
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+"""fold note_items into the note body and drop the table
+
+Revision ID: 0027
+Revises: 0026
+Create Date: 2026-08-24
+
+M304. A checklist item becomes a `- [ ] milk` line of `notes.body`, and `note_items`
+goes. The reason is positional, not cosmetic: a row had a position in a table and no
+position in the text, so a separate list could only ever render AFTER the prose. With
+the items in the body, a list can sit between two paragraphs — which is the thing that
+could not be built before and no amount of restyling would have delivered.
+
+## This migration rewrites real content
+
+Every note that has items gets its body appended to. The Google Keep import is genuine
+content on this instance, not fixtures, so the rules here are strict:
+
+  * Rows are read BEFORE the table is dropped, in this one transaction.
+  * The existing body is never rewritten, only appended to.
+  * The layout — a blank line between prose and the list, nothing between consecutive
+    items — is byte-for-byte what `_note_markdown` has always exported and what
+    `derive::append_item` produces on every client. All three landing on the same text
+    is what lets the clients migrate their own SQLite stores independently and still
+    agree with the server, with no sync required to reconcile them.
+
+## The fold is inlined on purpose
+
+`notes/checklist.py` has this same function and this migration deliberately does not
+import it. A migration has to keep producing what it produced the day it ran; if the
+app's spacing rule ever changes, this file must not change with it.
+
+## `updated_at` is left alone, and that is load-bearing
+
+Raw SQL, so SQLAlchemy's `onupdate` never fires. Two reasons, and the second matters
+more than the first. Every client folds the same rows the same way, so the new body is
+news to nobody. And a client holding an UNPUSHED body edit still has the newer
+`updated_at`, so when it pulls the migrated note last-write-wins keeps its edit instead
+of the migration silently winning.
+
+The `notes` row's own `sync_revision` trigger (migration 0015) does fire, so every
+migrated note becomes pullable once. That is wanted: it is what makes a client whose
+local fold somehow differed converge on the server's text.
+
+## The downgrade is not a true inverse, and says so
+
+It recreates an empty `note_items` and leaves the bodies alone. Nothing is lost —
+every item is still there as text, which is where this migration put it — but the old
+code would show those notes as prose with no checklist. A faithful inverse is not
+possible: once the items are lines, nothing distinguishes a line this migration wrote
+from one somebody typed, and a downgrade that guessed would eat hand-written task
+lists. The real rollback is a database restore.
+
+Recreating the table is not decoration, though. Migration 0015's downgrade runs
+`DROP TRIGGER IF EXISTS trg_note_items_bump_note ON note_items`, and `IF EXISTS`
+covers the trigger, not the table — against a missing table that statement errors. So
+this is what keeps the migration chain runnable all the way back down.
+"""
+import re
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import UUID
+
+revision = "0027"
+down_revision = "0026"
+branch_labels = None
+depends_on = None
+
+_TASK_RE = re.compile(r"^\s*[-*] +\[[ xX]\](?: +.*)?$")
+
+
+def _append_item(body: str, text: str, checked: bool) -> str:
+    mark = "x" if checked else " "
+    text = (text or "").strip()
+    line = f"- [{mark}] {text}" if text else f"- [{mark}]"
+    trimmed = (body or "").rstrip("\n")
+    if not trimmed.strip():
+        return line
+    follows_a_list = bool(_TASK_RE.match(trimmed.split("\n")[-1]))
+    return f"{trimmed}\n{line}" if follows_a_list else f"{trimmed}\n\n{line}"
+
+
+def upgrade():
+    bind = op.get_bind()
+    rows = bind.execute(
+        sa.text("SELECT note_id, text, checked FROM note_items ORDER BY note_id, position, created_at")
+    ).fetchall()
+
+    grouped: dict = {}
+    for note_id, text, checked in rows:
+        grouped.setdefault(note_id, []).append((text, bool(checked)))
+
+    for note_id, items in grouped.items():
+        body = bind.execute(sa.text("SELECT body FROM notes WHERE id = :id"), {"id": note_id}).scalar()
+        # An item whose note is already gone has nothing to fold into. The foreign key
+        # should make this impossible; skipping costs nothing and failing here would
+        # leave the database half-migrated.
+        if body is None:
+            continue
+        for text, checked in items:
+            body = _append_item(body, text, checked)
+        bind.execute(sa.text("UPDATE notes SET body = :body WHERE id = :id"), {"body": body, "id": note_id})
+
+    op.drop_table("note_items")
+
+
+def downgrade():
+    # Column-for-column as migration 0006 created it, index name included: 0015's
+    # downgrade names both the table and its trigger, so a near-enough copy is not
+    # good enough.
+    op.create_table(
+        "note_items",
+        sa.Column("id", UUID(as_uuid=True), primary_key=True),
+        sa.Column("note_id", UUID(as_uuid=True), sa.ForeignKey("notes.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("text", sa.Text(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("checked", sa.Boolean(), nullable=False, server_default=sa.false()),
+        sa.Column("position", sa.Integer(), nullable=False, server_default="0"),
+        sa.Column("created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), nullable=False, server_default=sa.func.now()),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_note_items_note", "note_items", ["note_id"])
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/models/all.py b/src/thoughtsync/models/all.py
index 443b9db..eb77fac 100644
--- a/src/thoughtsync/models/all.py
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/models/all.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ from . import (  # noqa: F401
     label,
     note,
     note_attachment,
-    note_item,
     note_link_preview,
     note_revision,
     saved_filter,
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/models/note.py b/src/thoughtsync/models/note.py
index 28bd907..5c9bb6f 100644
--- a/src/thoughtsync/models/note.py
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/models/note.py
@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@ class Note(Base):
     display_title: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text(), nullable=False, server_default="")
     body: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text(), nullable=False, server_default="")
     color: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text(), nullable=False, server_default="default")
-    # 'text' (freeform body) or 'list' (a checklist of note_items).
     # Manual drag order (higher = earlier); 0 until the user reorders.
     position: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer(), nullable=False, server_default="0")
     pinned: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean(), nullable=False, server_default=func.false())
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/models/note_item.py b/src/thoughtsync/models/note_item.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 2ebfe75..0000000
--- a/src/thoughtsync/models/note_item.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-from __future__ import annotations
-
-import uuid
-from datetime import datetime
-
-from sqlalchemy import Boolean, DateTime, ForeignKey, Integer, Text, func
-from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import UUID
-from sqlalchemy.orm import Mapped, mapped_column
-
-from . import Base
-
-
-class NoteItem(Base):
-    """A single checklist item on a note.
-
-    Any note can have them. There is no note "kind" gating this — a checklist is
-    something a note HAS, not something a note IS (M13 step 2).
-    """
-
-    __tablename__ = "note_items"
-
-    id: Mapped[uuid.UUID] = mapped_column(UUID(as_uuid=True), primary_key=True, default=uuid.uuid4)
-    note_id: Mapped[uuid.UUID] = mapped_column(
-        UUID(as_uuid=True), ForeignKey("notes.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), nullable=False
-    )
-    text: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text(), nullable=False)
-    checked: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean(), nullable=False, server_default=func.false())
-    position: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer(), nullable=False, server_default="0")
-    created_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True), nullable=False, server_default=func.now())
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/notes/__init__.py b/src/thoughtsync/notes/__init__.py
index f8e07a3..1a744ca 100644
--- a/src/thoughtsync/notes/__init__.py
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/notes/__init__.py
@@ -31,10 +31,16 @@ from ..labeling import reconcile_manual_labels, resolve_owned_label_ids
 from ..models.label import Label, NoteLabel
 from ..models.note import Note
 from ..models.note_attachment import NoteAttachment
-from ..models.note_item import NoteItem
 from ..models.note_link_preview import NoteLinkPreview
 from ..models.note_revision import NoteRevision
 from ..revisions import should_snapshot
+from .checklist import (
+    append_item,
+    parse_items,
+    remove_item,
+    set_item_checked,
+    set_item_text,
+)
 from ..responses import json_error, not_found, parse_uuid
 from ..retention import purge_note
 from ..settings import get_setting
@@ -70,7 +76,7 @@ from .tags import (
     parse_tags,
 )
 from .recurrence import REMINDER_RECURRENCES, next_occurrence, normalize_recurrence
-from .serialize import _items_for_notes, _labels_for_notes, _serialize_note, _serialize_notes
+from .serialize import _labels_for_notes, _serialize_note, _serialize_notes
 
 __all__ = [
     "bp",
@@ -225,7 +231,6 @@ async def export_notes():
         ).all()
         ids = [n.id for n in notes_list]
         labels_map = await _labels_for_notes(db, ids)
-        items_map = await _items_for_notes(db, ids)
         att_rows = (
             (await db.scalars(select(NoteAttachment).where(NoteAttachment.note_id.in_(ids)))).all() if ids else []
         )
@@ -247,7 +252,6 @@ async def export_notes():
         with zipfile.ZipFile(buf, "w", zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as zf:
             for n in notes_list:
                 labels = labels_map.get(n.id, [])
-                items = items_map.get(n.id, [])
                 atts = att_by_note.get(n.id, [])
                 short = str(n.id)[:8]
                 payload["notes"].append(
@@ -263,13 +267,12 @@ async def export_notes():
                         "created_at": n.created_at.isoformat() if n.created_at else None,
                         "updated_at": n.updated_at.isoformat() if n.updated_at else None,
                         "labels": [lb["name"] for lb in labels],
-                        "items": [{"text": it["text"], "checked": it["checked"]} for it in items],
                         "attachments": [
                             {"file": f"attachments/{short}/{os.path.basename(a.path)}", "mime": a.mime} for a in atts
                         ],
                     }
                 )
-                zf.writestr(f"notes/{_slugify(n.display_title)}-{short}.md", _note_markdown(n, labels, items))
+                zf.writestr(f"notes/{_slugify(n.display_title)}-{short}.md", _note_markdown(n, labels))
                 for a in atts:
                     src = Config.media_root() / a.path
                     if src.is_file():
@@ -385,24 +388,6 @@ async def reorder_notes():
         return jsonify({"ok": True})
 
 
-async def _name_for(db, note: Note, item_texts: list[str] | None = None) -> str:
-    """The note's display name, consulting its checklist only when the body is silent.
-
-    `item_texts` short-circuits the query for callers that already hold the items
-    (create, import). Everyone else pays one narrow SELECT, and only when the body
-    produced nothing — which is the uncommon case.
-    """
-    name = derive_display_title(note.body)
-    if name:
-        return name
-    if item_texts is not None:
-        return derive_display_title("", item_texts[0] if item_texts else None)
-    first = await db.scalar(
-        select(NoteItem.text).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id).order_by(NoteItem.position).limit(1)
-    )
-    return derive_display_title("", first)
-
-
 @bp.post("")
 @login_required
 async def create_note():
@@ -419,17 +404,20 @@ async def create_note():
                 Note.owner_id == g.user_id, Note.deleted_at.is_(None)
             )
         )
+        # Items still arrive separately — a client holds a list, not a blob — but they
+        # are folded into the body, which is where a checklist lives now (M304).
+        for text in item_texts:
+            body = append_item(body, text)
         note = Note(
             owner_id=g.user_id,
-            display_title=derive_display_title(body, item_texts[0] if item_texts else None),
+            display_title=derive_display_title(body),
             body=body,
             color=normalize_color(data.get("color")),
             position=int(max_pos) + 1,
         )
         db.add(note)
-        await db.flush()  # assign note.id before writing items/links
-        for pos, text in enumerate(item_texts):
-            db.add(NoteItem(note_id=note.id, text=text, position=pos))
+        await db.flush()  # assign note.id before writing links
+        # The FOLDED body: an item can carry a #tag too.
         await _reconcile_tags(db, note)
         await db.commit()
         await db.refresh(note)
@@ -484,7 +472,7 @@ async def update_note(note_id: str):
         if "recurrence" in data:
             note.recurrence = normalize_recurrence(data["recurrence"])
         if "body" in data:
-            note.display_title = await _name_for(db, note)
+            note.display_title = derive_display_title(note.body)
             await _reconcile_tags(db, note)
         # Version history: snapshot the PRE-edit body, once per editing session
         # rather than once per write — see revisions.should_snapshot. Writing often
@@ -543,7 +531,7 @@ async def restore_revision(note_id: str, rev_id: str):
         # the revision — with the same body ripple as a normal edit.
         db.add(NoteRevision(note_id=note.id, body=note.body))
         note.body = rev.body
-        note.display_title = await _name_for(db, note)
+        note.display_title = derive_display_title(note.body)
         await _reconcile_tags(db, note)
         await db.commit()
         await db.refresh(note)
@@ -575,11 +563,35 @@ async def set_note_labels(note_id: str):
         return jsonify(await _serialize_note(db, note))
 
 
-async def _get_item(db, note: Note, item_id: str) -> NoteItem | None:
-    iid = parse_uuid(item_id)
-    if iid is None:
+def _item_index(item_id: str) -> int | None:
+    """An item's id is its ordinal (see serialize.items_of). Anything else is a stale
+    id from a client that has not reloaded, and the answer to those is 404."""
+    try:
+        index = int(item_id)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
         return None
-    return await db.scalar(select(NoteItem).where(NoteItem.id == iid, NoteItem.note_id == note.id))
+    return index if index >= 0 else None
+
+
+async def _rewrite_body(db, note: Note, body: str):
+    """Every item mutation is a body edit, so all of them land here.
+
+    One place means one place that snapshots a revision, re-derives `#tags`, recomputes
+    the name and queues link unfurls — rather than three routes each remembering to.
+    Deliberately the same sequence the PATCH route runs for a body change, because it
+    IS a body change.
+    """
+    old_body = note.body
+    if await should_snapshot(db, note.id, old_body, body):
+        db.add(NoteRevision(note_id=note.id, body=old_body))
+    note.body = body
+    note.display_title = derive_display_title(body)
+    await _reconcile_tags(db, note)
+    await db.commit()
+    await db.refresh(note)
+    if note.body != old_body:
+        schedule_unfurls(note.id, note.body)
+    return jsonify(await _serialize_note(db, note))
 
 
 @bp.post("/<note_id>/items")
@@ -591,70 +603,49 @@ async def add_item(note_id: str):
         note = await _get_owned(db, note_id)
         if note is None:
             return not_found()
-        max_pos = await db.scalar(
-            select(func.coalesce(func.max(NoteItem.position), -1)).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id)
-        )
-        db.add(NoteItem(note_id=note.id, text=text, position=int(max_pos) + 1))
-        await db.commit()
-        return jsonify(await _serialize_note(db, note)), 201
+        response = await _rewrite_body(db, note, append_item(note.body, text))
+        return response, 201
 
 
 @bp.patch("/<note_id>/items/<item_id>")
 @login_required
 async def update_item(note_id: str, item_id: str):
     data = await request.get_json(silent=True) or {}
+    index = _item_index(item_id)
+    if index is None:
+        return not_found()
     async with session_scope() as db:
         note = await _get_owned(db, note_id)
         if note is None:
             return not_found()
-        item = await _get_item(db, note, item_id)
-        if item is None:
+        if index >= len(parse_items(note.body)):
             return not_found()
+        body = note.body
         if "text" in data and isinstance(data["text"], str):
-            item.text = data["text"]
+            body = set_item_text(body, index, data["text"])
         if "checked" in data:
-            item.checked = bool(data["checked"])
-        await db.commit()
-        return jsonify(await _serialize_note(db, note))
+            body = set_item_checked(body, index, bool(data["checked"]))
+        return await _rewrite_body(db, note, body)
 
 
 @bp.delete("/<note_id>/items/<item_id>")
 @login_required
 async def delete_item(note_id: str, item_id: str):
+    index = _item_index(item_id)
+    if index is None:
+        return not_found()
     async with session_scope() as db:
         note = await _get_owned(db, note_id)
         if note is None:
             return not_found()
-        item = await _get_item(db, note, item_id)
-        if item is None:
+        if index >= len(parse_items(note.body)):
             return not_found()
-        await db.delete(item)
-        await db.commit()
-        return jsonify(await _serialize_note(db, note))
+        return await _rewrite_body(db, note, remove_item(note.body, index))
 
 
-@bp.post("/<note_id>/items/reorder")
-@login_required
-async def reorder_items(note_id: str):
-    data = await request.get_json(silent=True) or {}
-    order = data.get("item_ids")
-    if not isinstance(order, list):
-        return json_error("item_ids must be a list", 400)
-    async with session_scope() as db:
-        note = await _get_owned(db, note_id)
-        if note is None:
-            return not_found()
-        existing = {
-            str(i.id): i for i in (await db.scalars(select(NoteItem).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id))).all()
-        }
-        pos = 0
-        for iid in order:
-            item = existing.get(str(iid))
-            if item is not None:
-                item.position = pos
-                pos += 1
-        await db.commit()
-        return jsonify(await _serialize_note(db, note))
+# The reorder route is gone with M304. Reordering a checklist is moving a line, which
+# is something a text editor already does and no client ever called this for — the
+# only reference to it in the tree was a test asserting the route existed.
 
 
 @bp.post("/<note_id>/attachments")
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/notes/checklist.py b/src/thoughtsync/notes/checklist.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c92286
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/notes/checklist.py
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+"""Checklist items — a note's body IS its checklist (M304).
+
+A `- [ ] milk` line is the item. There is no `note_items` table beside the body any
+more, which is what lets a list sit BETWEEN two paragraphs: rows had a position in a
+table and no position in the text, so a separate list could only ever render after
+the prose no matter how it was styled.
+
+The same shape as `tags.py`, one strength further along. Tags are derived from the
+body too, but they MATERIALISE into `note_labels` rows because the board queries by
+label. Items materialise into nothing, because nothing queries them — their only
+readers are the card, the editor and `display_title`. So `parse_items` is the whole
+storage layer for a checklist, and the rewriters below are how one is edited.
+
+THE GRAMMAR IS SHARED. Three implementations exist and they have to agree, because a
+difference between any two of them is a checklist that changes shape when it syncs:
+
+    core/src/local/derive.rs     the native clients (desktop + Android)
+    src/thoughtsync/notes/checklist.py   this file, the server
+    frontend/src/notes/markdown.ts       the browser
+
+    optional indent, `-` or `*`, one-or-more spaces, `[ ]`/`[x]`/`[X]`,
+    then either end-of-line or one-or-more spaces and the text.
+
+`*` is accepted because markdown.ts already takes it for a plain bullet, and a rule
+that allowed `* item` but not `* [ ] item` would be one nobody could guess. `- [ ]`
+with nothing after it IS an item with empty text — that is what pressing Enter on a
+list leaves behind, and refusing to parse it would make a half-typed list stop being
+a list. `- [X]` parses as checked and renders back lowercase, so one canonical form
+survives a round trip.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+
+# Anchored at both ends: a `[ ]` mid-sentence is prose, and `- [ ]x` (no space after
+# the brackets) is a sentence that happens to start with brackets, not a marker.
+_TASK_RE = re.compile(r"^(?P<indent>\s*)(?P<bullet>[-*]) +\[(?P<mark>[ xX])\](?: +(?P<text>.*))?$")
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class Item:
+    """One checklist item. Its position in the parsed list is its identity — the same
+    thing `position` meant when these were rows, and all the wire ever carried."""
+
+    text: str
+    checked: bool
+
+
+def parse_items(body: str | None) -> list[Item]:
+    """Every checklist item in `body`, in the order they appear."""
+    out: list[Item] = []
+    for line in (body or "").split("\n"):
+        match = _TASK_RE.match(line)
+        if match:
+            out.append(Item(text=match.group("text") or "", checked=match.group("mark") in "xX"))
+    return out
+
+
+def render_item(text: str, checked: bool, indent: str = "", bullet: str = "-") -> str:
+    """One item as the line that stores it.
+
+    Always lowercase `x`, whatever was parsed: one canonical output is what makes a
+    round trip stable, so `- [X]` normalises the first time it is touched and never
+    again.
+    """
+    mark = "x" if checked else " "
+    if not text:
+        return f"{indent}{bullet} [{mark}]"
+    return f"{indent}{bullet} [{mark}] {text}"
+
+
+def strip_marker(line: str) -> str:
+    """The text of a line with its task marker removed, or the line as it was.
+
+    For naming a note: a list-only note is named by its first item, and calling one
+    "- [ ] milk" would be showing someone the storage instead of the note.
+    """
+    match = _TASK_RE.match(line)
+    return (match.group("text") or "") if match else line
+
+
+def _rewrite(body: str, index: int, replace) -> str:
+    """Rewrite the `index`-th task line with `replace`, or drop it when `replace`
+    returns None.
+
+    A body with fewer task lines than that is returned UNCHANGED rather than raising:
+    the index comes from a client that may be a moment behind the server, and a stale
+    request should do nothing rather than 500.
+    """
+    lines = body.split("\n")
+    target = None
+    seen = 0
+    for n, line in enumerate(lines):
+        if _TASK_RE.match(line):
+            if seen == index:
+                target = n
+                break
+            seen += 1
+    if target is None:
+        return body
+
+    match = _TASK_RE.match(lines[target])
+    replacement = replace(match)
+    if replacement is None:
+        del lines[target]
+    else:
+        lines[target] = replacement
+    return "\n".join(lines)
+
+
+def set_item_checked(body: str, index: int, checked: bool) -> str:
+    """Tick or untick the `index`-th item, keeping its text, indent and bullet."""
+    return _rewrite(
+        body,
+        index,
+        lambda m: render_item(m.group("text") or "", checked, m.group("indent"), m.group("bullet")),
+    )
+
+
+def set_item_text(body: str, index: int, text: str) -> str:
+    """Replace the text of the `index`-th item, keeping its state and its bullet."""
+    return _rewrite(
+        body,
+        index,
+        lambda m: render_item(text.strip(), m.group("mark") in "xX", m.group("indent"), m.group("bullet")),
+    )
+
+
+def remove_item(body: str, index: int) -> str:
+    """Delete the `index`-th item, line and all."""
+    return _rewrite(body, index, lambda _m: None)
+
+
+def append_item(body: str, text: str, checked: bool = False) -> str:
+    """Add an item at the end of the body.
+
+    A blank line between prose and the list, nothing between consecutive items —
+    the layout `import_export._note_markdown` has always used when writing a checklist
+    out. That is not cosmetic: it is what the Alembic migration folds existing
+    `note_items` rows into AND what `derive::append_item` produces on every client, so
+    all three land on identical bodies. An export taken before the migration and one
+    taken after therefore differ in nothing.
+    """
+    line = render_item(text.strip(), checked)
+    trimmed = body.rstrip("\n")
+    if not trimmed.strip():
+        return line
+    follows_a_list = bool(_TASK_RE.match(trimmed.split("\n")[-1]))
+    return f"{trimmed}\n{line}" if follows_a_list else f"{trimmed}\n\n{line}"
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/notes/helpers.py b/src/thoughtsync/notes/helpers.py
index 7ba8c5f..c197a19 100644
--- a/src/thoughtsync/notes/helpers.py
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/notes/helpers.py
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ board-filter narrowing, the owner-scoped fetch, and filename/slug sanitizers use
 both the attachment routes and the importer."""
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from .checklist import strip_marker
+
 import os
 import re
 
@@ -19,29 +21,36 @@ VALID_FILTERS = {"active", "archived", "trash"}
 DISPLAY_TITLE_CAP = 200
 
 
-def derive_display_title(body: str | None, first_item: str | None = None) -> str:
-    """The note's display NAME: the first non-empty line of the body, else the first
-    checklist item's text (both trimmed and length-capped).
+def derive_display_title(body: str | None) -> str:
+    """The note's display NAME: the first line of the body that says anything.
 
-    There is no explicit title to prefer any more (M13 step 3) — a note is a body plus
-    optional items, and its name is simply the first thing written in it. Persisted as
-    notes.display_title so search results and export filenames have something to say.
+    There is no explicit title to prefer any more (M13 step 3) — a note is a body, and
+    its name is simply the first thing written in it. Persisted as notes.display_title
+    so search results and export filenames have something to say.
 
-    The item fallback is what step 2 bought: a note that is only a checklist would
-    otherwise have no name at all, which is exactly the hole that made removing the
-    title unsafe before checklists stopped being their own kind of thing.
+    The old `first_item` fallback is gone with M304: items ARE body lines now, so a
+    list-only note is named by its first item without anyone having to arrange it. What
+    replaced the fallback is stripping the task marker — calling that note "- [ ] milk"
+    would show someone the storage instead of the note — and skipping an EMPTY item, so
+    a half-typed list does not leave a note with no name.
 
-    Deterministic — a literal first line, never generated.
+    Mirrors `display_title` in core/src/local/store.rs. Deterministic — a literal first
+    line, never generated.
     """
     for line in (body or "").splitlines():
-        stripped = line.strip()
+        stripped = strip_marker(line.strip()).strip()
         if stripped:
             return stripped[:DISPLAY_TITLE_CAP]
-    return (first_item or "").strip()[:DISPLAY_TITLE_CAP]
+    return ""
 
 
 def is_empty_note(body: str | None, items: list | None = None) -> bool:
-    """Nothing worth keeping: no body text and no checklist items."""
+    """Nothing worth keeping: no body text and no checklist items.
+
+    `items` is still a separate argument because create still accepts them separately —
+    the importer holds a list, not a blob — and they are folded into the body only
+    after this check has decided the note is worth making at all.
+    """
     return not (body or "").strip() and not items
 
 
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/notes/import_export.py b/src/thoughtsync/notes/import_export.py
index c3b659f..93cbe73 100644
--- a/src/thoughtsync/notes/import_export.py
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/notes/import_export.py
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ from ..config import Config
 from ..models.label import NoteLabel
 from ..models.note import Note
 from ..models.note_attachment import NoteAttachment
-from ..models.note_item import NoteItem
 from .helpers import (
     ALLOWED_IMAGE_MIMES,
     _attachment_ext,
@@ -28,11 +27,12 @@ from .helpers import (
     derive_display_title,
     is_empty_note,
 )
+from .checklist import append_item
 from .tags import _find_or_create_label, _reconcile_tags
 from .recurrence import normalize_recurrence
 
 
-def _note_markdown(note: Note, labels: list, items: list) -> str:
+def _note_markdown(note: Note, labels: list) -> str:
     """One note as a human-readable Markdown file with a small frontmatter block.
     The authoritative machine format is notes.json; this is for reading/portability."""
     fm = ["---"]
@@ -54,11 +54,9 @@ def _note_markdown(note: Note, labels: list, items: list) -> str:
     # are written, body first, with a blank line between them when there is.
     if note.body:
         fm.append(note.body)
-    if items:
-        if note.body:
-            fm.append("")
-        for it in items:
-            fm.append(f"- [{'x' if it['checked'] else ' '}] {it['text']}")
+    # No separate items block any more. The body already ends with those exact lines
+    # (M304) — this function is where their layout was decided, and appending them a
+    # second time would double every checklist in an export.
     return "\n".join(fm) + "\n"
 
 
@@ -294,9 +292,17 @@ async def _create_imported_note(
     if is_empty_note(body, item_texts):
         return False
 
+    # Items fold into the body, which is where a checklist lives now (M304). Done
+    # before the Note is built so display_title and _reconcile_tags both see the
+    # finished text — an imported item can carry a #tag like any other line.
+    for it in items:
+        text = (it.get("text") or "").strip()
+        if text:
+            body = append_item(body, text, bool(it.get("checked")))
+
     note = Note(
         owner_id=owner_id,
-        display_title=derive_display_title(body, item_texts[0] if item_texts else None),
+        display_title=derive_display_title(body),
         body=body,
         color=normalize_color(spec.get("color")),
         pinned=bool(spec.get("pinned")),
@@ -316,12 +322,7 @@ async def _create_imported_note(
     if spec.get("updated_at"):
         note.updated_at = spec["updated_at"]
     db.add(note)
-    await db.flush()  # assign note.id before items/labels/attachments/links
-
-    for pos, it in enumerate(items):
-        text = (it.get("text") or "").strip()
-        if text:
-            db.add(NoteItem(note_id=note.id, text=text, checked=bool(it.get("checked")), position=pos))
+    await db.flush()  # assign note.id before labels/attachments/links
 
     # Explicit (picker-style) labels are manual — via_tag=False. Inline #tags in the
     # body are handled by _reconcile_tags below, same as a normal create.
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/notes/serialize.py b/src/thoughtsync/notes/serialize.py
index cceff35..67587ed 100644
--- a/src/thoughtsync/notes/serialize.py
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/notes/serialize.py
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ from sqlalchemy import select
 from ..models.label import Label, NoteLabel
 from ..models.note import Note
 from ..models.note_attachment import NoteAttachment
-from ..models.note_item import NoteItem
 from ..models.note_link_preview import NoteLinkPreview
+from .checklist import parse_items
 
 
 async def _labels_for_notes(db, note_ids: list) -> dict:
@@ -30,23 +30,23 @@ async def _labels_for_notes(db, note_ids: list) -> dict:
     return result
 
 
-def _serialize_item(item: NoteItem) -> dict:
-    return {"id": str(item.id), "text": item.text, "checked": item.checked, "position": item.position}
+def items_of(body: str | None) -> list[dict]:
+    """The note's checklist, read out of its body. No query, because there is no table.
 
+    Still emitted in the payload after M304, and that is not a second source of truth:
+    it is DERIVED on the way out, so it cannot disagree with the body it came from. It
+    saves every consumer that only wants to draw checkboxes from carrying a parser, and
+    the ones that do carry one (the native clients, the browser) are free to ignore it
+    and read the body.
 
-async def _items_for_notes(db, note_ids: list) -> dict:
-    """Map note_id -> [checklist items] in one query, ordered by position."""
-    result: dict = {}
-    if not note_ids:
-        return result
-    items = (
-        await db.scalars(
-            select(NoteItem).where(NoteItem.note_id.in_(note_ids)).order_by(NoteItem.position, NoteItem.created_at)
-        )
-    ).all()
-    for item in items:
-        result.setdefault(item.note_id, []).append(_serialize_item(item))
-    return result
+    The id is the item's ORDINAL, which is what the rewriters in `checklist.py` take,
+    so a client holding one can act on it directly. It also shifts when an item is
+    removed — every mutation returns the reloaded note for exactly that reason.
+    """
+    return [
+        {"id": str(i), "text": item.text, "checked": item.checked, "position": i}
+        for i, item in enumerate(parse_items(body))
+    ]
 
 
 def _attachment_url(note_id, att_id) -> str:
@@ -108,8 +108,7 @@ async def _serialize_note(db, note: Note) -> dict:
     data = note.serialize()
     labels = await _labels_for_notes(db, [note.id])
     data["labels"] = labels.get(note.id, [])
-    items = await _items_for_notes(db, [note.id])
-    data["items"] = items.get(note.id, [])
+    data["items"] = items_of(note.body)
     attachments = await _attachments_for_notes(db, [note.id])
     data["attachments"] = attachments.get(note.id, [])
     previews = await _previews_for_notes(db, [note.id])
@@ -120,14 +119,14 @@ async def _serialize_note(db, note: Note) -> dict:
 async def _serialize_notes(db, notes: list) -> list:
     ids = [n.id for n in notes]
     labels_map = await _labels_for_notes(db, ids)
-    items_map = await _items_for_notes(db, ids)
+
     attach_map = await _attachments_for_notes(db, ids)
     preview_map = await _previews_for_notes(db, ids)
     out = []
     for n in notes:
         data = n.serialize()
         data["labels"] = labels_map.get(n.id, [])
-        data["items"] = items_map.get(n.id, [])
+        data["items"] = items_of(n.body)
         data["attachments"] = attach_map.get(n.id, [])
         data["previews"] = preview_map.get(n.id, [])
         out.append(data)
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/retention.py b/src/thoughtsync/retention.py
index 6c6dd88..ea4166a 100644
--- a/src/thoughtsync/retention.py
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/retention.py
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ from .db import session_scope
 from .models.label import NoteLabel
 from .models.note import Note
 from .models.note_attachment import NoteAttachment
-from .models.note_item import NoteItem
 from .models.note_link_preview import NoteLinkPreview
 from .models.note_revision import NoteRevision
 from .settings import get_setting
@@ -85,7 +84,6 @@ async def purge_note(db, note: Note, edited_at: datetime | None = None) -> None:
             # place would make the note reappear whole on the next sweep.
             logger.warning("couldn't remove attachment file %s during purge", a.path, exc_info=True)
     await db.execute(sa_delete(NoteAttachment).where(NoteAttachment.note_id == note.id))
-    await db.execute(sa_delete(NoteItem).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id))
     await db.execute(sa_delete(NoteLabel).where(NoteLabel.note_id == note.id))
     await db.execute(sa_delete(NoteLinkPreview).where(NoteLinkPreview.note_id == note.id))
     await db.execute(sa_delete(NoteRevision).where(NoteRevision.note_id == note.id))
diff --git a/src/thoughtsync/sync.py b/src/thoughtsync/sync.py
index ad46c6d..f5e141a 100644
--- a/src/thoughtsync/sync.py
+++ b/src/thoughtsync/sync.py
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ from .db import session_scope
 from .labeling import reconcile_manual_labels, resolve_owned_label_ids
 from .models.label import Label, NoteLabel
 from .models.note import Note
-from .models.note_item import NoteItem
 from .models.note_revision import NoteRevision
 from .revisions import should_snapshot
 from .notes import (
@@ -63,8 +62,8 @@ MAX_PUSH = 1000  # per-batch change cap
 #
 # One bump for the pair: they landed in the same protocol generation, and nothing ever
 # ran against a half-applied v2.
-SYNC_PROTOCOL_VERSION = 2
-MIN_CLIENT_PROTOCOL_VERSION = 2
+SYNC_PROTOCOL_VERSION = 3
+MIN_CLIENT_PROTOCOL_VERSION = 3
 
 # Named capabilities beyond the base protocol. An ADDITIVE change earns a name
 # here rather than a min-version bump, so a newer client meeting an older server
@@ -213,49 +212,12 @@ def _assign_note_fields(note: Note, ch: dict) -> None:
         note.position = ch["position"]
 
 
-def _first_item_text(ch: dict) -> str:
-    """The first non-blank checklist item in a pushed change, or "".
-
-    Read straight from the payload rather than the database because the note's name is
-    computed BEFORE `_apply_note_items` has written anything — and a note whose body is
-    empty is named by its first item (M13 step 3).
-    """
-    items = ch.get("items")
-    if not isinstance(items, list):
-        return ""
-    for it in items:
-        if isinstance(it, dict):
-            text = (it.get("text") or "").strip()
-            if text:
-                return text
-    return ""
-
-
-async def _apply_note_items(db, note: Note, ch: dict) -> None:
-    """Replace the note's checklist items with the client's (items sync inline).
-
-    Applies to ANY note. This used to delete every item when the note wasn't
-    `kind == "list"`, which was survivable only because nothing could produce a note
-    holding both a body and items. M13 makes that the normal shape — a checklist is
-    something a note HAS, not something a note IS — and against that shape the old
-    guard was a data-loss path: the first sync after adding a checklist to a note
-    would have wiped it.
-
-    Removed ahead of the UI that can create the state, deliberately, so there is no
-    window in which the two disagree.
-    """
-    items = ch.get("items")
-    if not isinstance(items, list):
-        # Absent means "not telling us", not "empty". A client that omits the key
-        # leaves what the server has; only an explicit [] clears it.
-        return
-    await db.execute(sa_delete(NoteItem).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id))
-    for pos, it in enumerate(items):
-        if not isinstance(it, dict):
-            continue
-        text = (it.get("text") or "").strip()
-        if text:
-            db.add(NoteItem(note_id=note.id, text=text, checked=bool(it.get("checked")), position=pos))
+# `_first_item_text` and `_apply_note_items` lived here until M304. Both existed for
+# one reason — a checklist was a table beside the body — and both are gone with it. A
+# pushed change carries its items as `- [ ] ` lines inside `body`, so applying them is
+# applying the body, and naming the note is reading its first line. A client that still
+# sends an `items` array is a v2 client, and the version floor below turns it away
+# before any of this runs.
 
 
 async def _apply_note_manual_labels(db, note: Note, ch: dict) -> None:
@@ -315,7 +277,7 @@ async def _apply_note(db, ch: dict) -> dict:
 
     old_body = note.body
     _assign_note_fields(note, ch)
-    note.display_title = derive_display_title(note.body, _first_item_text(ch))
+    note.display_title = derive_display_title(note.body)
     if edited_at is not None:
         note.updated_at = edited_at
     # Non-destructive LWW: snapshot the overwritten server body into history —
@@ -327,7 +289,6 @@ async def _apply_note(db, ch: dict) -> dict:
     if not creating and await should_snapshot(db, note.id, old_body, note.body):
         db.add(NoteRevision(note_id=note.id, body=old_body))
     await db.flush()  # assign note.id before items/labels/links
-    await _apply_note_items(db, note, ch)
     await _reconcile_tags(db, note)
     await _apply_note_manual_labels(db, note, ch)
     await db.flush()
diff --git a/tests/test_integration.py b/tests/test_integration.py
index f94d0bf..3b2ff66 100644
--- a/tests/test_integration.py
+++ b/tests/test_integration.py
@@ -26,21 +26,20 @@ from thoughtsync import ratelimit
 from thoughtsync.app import create_app
 from thoughtsync.db import dispose_engine, session_scope
 from thoughtsync.models.note import Note
-from thoughtsync.models.note_item import NoteItem
 from thoughtsync.models.user import User
 from thoughtsync.settings import get_setting, live, refresh_live, reset_live, set_settings
+from thoughtsync.notes.checklist import parse_items, set_item_checked
 from thoughtsync.notes.helpers import derive_display_title
 from thoughtsync.models.note_link_preview import NoteLinkPreview
 from thoughtsync.models.note_revision import NoteRevision
 from thoughtsync.revisions import REVISION_WINDOW_MINUTES, should_snapshot
-from thoughtsync.sync import _apply_note_items
 from thoughtsync.unfurl_queue import _unfurl_new_urls, detect_urls
 
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.integration
 
 # Every table the tests touch, child-first so FKs never block the truncate.
 # RESTART IDENTITY + CASCADE keeps this honest if a table gains children later.
-_TABLES = "notes, note_items, note_revisions, note_labels, note_link_previews, labels, users"
+_TABLES = "notes, note_revisions, note_labels, note_link_previews, labels, users"
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture
@@ -160,65 +159,55 @@ async def test_the_search_vector_was_rebuilt_over_the_name(db, owner):
     assert body_only == 1
 
 
-async def test_a_note_keeps_both_its_body_and_its_items(db, owner):
-    """The shape M13 step 2 made normal: a note HAS a checklist, it isn't one."""
-    note = Note(owner_id=owner.id, body="weekend shop", display_title="weekend shop")
-    db.add(note)
-    await db.flush()
-    db.add_all(
-        [
-            NoteItem(note_id=note.id, text="milk", position=0),
-            NoteItem(note_id=note.id, text="eggs", position=1),
-        ]
-    )
-    await db.commit()
+async def test_a_note_keeps_its_prose_on_both_sides_of_its_list(db, owner):
+    """The shape M304 made expressible at all.
 
-    items = (
-        await db.scalars(select(NoteItem).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id).order_by(NoteItem.position))
-    ).all()
-    assert [i.text for i in items] == ["milk", "eggs"]
-    assert (await db.scalar(select(Note.body).where(Note.id == note.id))) == "weekend shop"
-
-
-async def test_sync_no_longer_deletes_items_from_a_note_with_a_body(db, owner):
-    """The data-loss path step 2 removed, pinned against a real database.
-
-    `_apply_note_items` used to delete every item when the note wasn't `kind = "list"`.
-    Nothing can produce that state any more, but this is the regression that would
-    have silently eaten a checklist, and it deserves a test that would catch its
-    return.
+    The old model could not hold this: a row had a position in a table and none in the
+    text, so a checklist could only ever render AFTER the body. Prose, list, prose is
+    the case that proves the storage changed, not just the styling.
     """
-    note = Note(owner_id=owner.id, body="packing", display_title="packing")
+    body = "weekend shop\n\n- [ ] milk\n- [x] eggs\n\nback before six"
+    note = Note(owner_id=owner.id, body=body, display_title=derive_display_title(body))
     db.add(note)
-    await db.flush()
-    db.add(NoteItem(note_id=note.id, text="socks", position=0))
     await db.commit()
 
-    # A change that says nothing about items must LEAVE them alone — absent means
-    # "not telling us", not "empty".
-    await _apply_note_items(db, note, {"body": "packing"})
-    await db.commit()
-    assert (await db.scalar(select(NoteItem.text).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id))) == "socks"
-
-    # An explicit list replaces them.
-    await _apply_note_items(db, note, {"items": [{"text": "charger", "checked": True}]})
-    await db.commit()
-    rows = (await db.scalars(select(NoteItem).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id))).all()
-    assert [(r.text, r.checked) for r in rows] == [("charger", True)]
+    stored = await db.scalar(select(Note.body).where(Note.id == note.id))
+    assert [(i.text, i.checked) for i in parse_items(stored)] == [("milk", False), ("eggs", True)]
+    assert stored.splitlines()[0] == "weekend shop"
+    assert stored.splitlines()[-1] == "back before six"
 
 
-async def test_a_note_with_only_items_still_has_a_name(db, owner):
-    """The hole that made removing the title unsafe until step 2 closed it."""
-    note = Note(owner_id=owner.id, body="", display_title="")
+async def test_ticking_an_item_is_a_body_edit(db, owner):
+    """What replaced `_apply_note_items`: there is no separate thing left to apply.
+
+    The regression that function guarded against — a sync silently eating a checklist
+    off a note that also had a body — cannot recur, because there is nothing to delete.
+    A pushed body either has the lines or it does not.
+    """
+    body = "packing\n\n- [ ] socks"
+    note = Note(owner_id=owner.id, body=body, display_title="packing")
     db.add(note)
-    await db.flush()
-    db.add(NoteItem(note_id=note.id, text="milk", position=0))
     await db.commit()
 
-    first = await db.scalar(
-        select(NoteItem.text).where(NoteItem.note_id == note.id).order_by(NoteItem.position).limit(1)
-    )
-    note.display_title = derive_display_title(note.body, first)
+    note.body = set_item_checked(note.body, 0, True)
+    await db.commit()
+
+    stored = await db.scalar(select(Note.body).where(Note.id == note.id))
+    assert stored == "packing\n\n- [x] socks"
+    assert parse_items(stored)[0].checked
+    # The prose is untouched — a tick rewrites one line, not the note.
+    assert stored.splitlines()[0] == "packing"
+
+
+async def test_a_note_with_only_a_list_still_has_a_name(db, owner):
+    """The hole that made removing the title unsafe, still closed — by a different
+    mechanism. There is no item table to fall back to any more; the name comes from
+    the first line with its marker stripped, because calling the note "- [ ] milk"
+    would show someone the storage instead of the note.
+    """
+    body = "- [ ] milk\n- [ ] eggs"
+    note = Note(owner_id=owner.id, body=body, display_title=derive_display_title(body))
+    db.add(note)
     await db.commit()
 
     assert (await db.scalar(select(Note.display_title).where(Note.id == note.id))) == "milk"
diff --git a/tests/test_notes.py b/tests/test_notes.py
index 30b9181..abb3d4a 100644
--- a/tests/test_notes.py
+++ b/tests/test_notes.py
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ import pytest
 from thoughtsync.app import create_app
 from thoughtsync.common import coerce_bool, parse_dt
 from thoughtsync.models.note import NOTE_COLORS, Note
+from thoughtsync.notes.checklist import (
+    append_item,
+    parse_items,
+    remove_item,
+    set_item_checked,
+    set_item_text,
+    strip_marker,
+)
 from thoughtsync.unfurl_queue import detect_urls
 from thoughtsync.notes import (
     _attachment_ext,
@@ -42,7 +50,7 @@ def test_all_note_routes_registered(app):
             "reorder_notes", "create_note",
             "get_note", "update_note", "list_revisions", "restore_revision",
             "set_note_labels", "add_item", "update_item", "delete_item",
-            "reorder_items", "upload_attachment", "get_attachment",
+            "upload_attachment", "get_attachment",
             "delete_attachment", "unfurl_link", "delete_preview", "trash_note",
             "restore_note", "delete_note",
         )
@@ -406,3 +414,120 @@ def test_detect_urls_ignores_non_http():
     assert detect_urls("ftp://example.com and mailto:a@b.c and bare example.com") == []
     assert detect_urls(None) == []
     assert detect_urls("") == []
+
+
+# --- checklist items: the body IS the checklist (M304) -----------------------
+#
+# The same table of cases as core/src/local/derive.rs. Deliberately duplicated
+# rather than shared: the point of three implementations is that each is checked
+# against the same grammar, and a test that only ran once would not catch the two
+# drifting apart.
+
+
+def test_parse_items_reads_a_list_out_of_prose():
+    body = "shopping\n\n- [ ] milk\n- [x] eggs"
+    assert [(i.text, i.checked) for i in parse_items(body)] == [("milk", False), ("eggs", True)]
+
+
+def test_parse_items_between_paragraphs():
+    # The case a side table could not express, which is the whole reason for M304.
+    assert [i.text for i in parse_items("before\n- [ ] middle\nafter")] == ["middle"]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "body",
+    [
+        "-[ ] no space after the dash",
+        "- [] empty brackets",
+        "- [ ]no space after the brackets",
+        "- [y] not a mark",
+        "a [ ] mid sentence",
+        "[ ] no bullet at all",
+    ],
+)
+def test_parse_items_rejects_near_misses(body):
+    assert parse_items(body) == []
+
+
+def test_parse_items_accepts_star_bullets_and_indentation():
+    # `*` because markdown.ts already takes it for a plain bullet.
+    body = "* [ ] star\n    - [x] indented"
+    assert [(i.text, i.checked) for i in parse_items(body)] == [("star", False), ("indented", True)]
+
+
+def test_an_empty_item_is_still_an_item():
+    # What pressing Enter on a list leaves behind.
+    assert [i.text for i in parse_items("- [ ]")] == [""]
+    assert [i.text for i in parse_items("- [ ] ")] == [""]
+
+
+def test_uppercase_x_parses_and_normalises_on_rewrite():
+    assert parse_items("- [X] done")[0].checked
+    assert set_item_checked("- [X] done", 0, True) == "- [x] done"
+
+
+def test_rewriters_preserve_indent_bullet_and_neighbours():
+    assert set_item_checked("  * [ ] milk", 0, True) == "  * [x] milk"
+    assert set_item_text("- [x] old", 0, "new") == "- [x] new"
+    assert remove_item("keep\n- [ ] drop\n- [ ] stay", 0) == "keep\n- [ ] stay"
+    # Addressed by ITEM, not by line.
+    assert set_item_checked("note\n- [ ] a\nprose\n- [ ] b", 1, True) == "note\n- [ ] a\nprose\n- [x] b"
+
+
+def test_a_stale_index_does_nothing():
+    # The index comes from a client that may be a moment behind. A late request
+    # should be inert, not a 500.
+    body = "- [ ] only"
+    assert set_item_checked(body, 7, True) == body
+    assert remove_item(body, 7) == body
+    assert set_item_text(body, 7, "x") == body
+
+
+def test_a_plain_body_is_returned_unchanged():
+    body = "just prose\nwith two lines"
+    assert set_item_checked(body, 0, True) == body
+    assert remove_item(body, 0) == body
+
+
+def test_append_item_spacing():
+    # Prose, blank line, list — the layout _note_markdown has always exported, and
+    # what the migration folds existing rows into.
+    assert append_item("a note", "milk") == "a note\n\n- [ ] milk"
+    # Nothing between consecutive items.
+    assert append_item("a note\n\n- [ ] milk", "eggs") == "a note\n\n- [ ] milk\n- [ ] eggs"
+    # A list-only note starts at the first line.
+    assert append_item("", "milk") == "- [ ] milk"
+    assert append_item("\n\n", "milk") == "- [ ] milk"
+    # Carries state, which is what the migrations need of it.
+    assert append_item("", "done", True) == "- [x] done"
+
+
+def test_strip_marker_and_display_title():
+    assert strip_marker("- [x] milk") == "milk"
+    assert strip_marker("just prose") == "just prose"
+    # A list-only note is named by its first item, without the marker.
+    assert derive_display_title("- [ ] milk\n- [ ] eggs") == "milk"
+    # An EMPTY item does not name the note "" — a half-typed list still has a name.
+    assert derive_display_title("- [ ]\n- [ ] eggs") == "eggs"
+
+
+def test_the_migration_folds_exactly_like_the_app():
+    """0027 inlines its own copy of append_item, deliberately — a migration has to keep
+    producing what it produced the day it ran, so it must not follow the app if the
+    app's spacing ever changes. This is what keeps the copy honest until then."""
+    import importlib.util
+    from pathlib import Path
+
+    path = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / "alembic" / "versions" / "0027_checklist_items_into_body.py"
+    spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("_m0027", path)
+    module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+    spec.loader.exec_module(module)
+
+    for body, text, checked in [
+        ("a note", "milk", False),
+        ("a note\n\n- [ ] milk", "eggs", True),
+        ("", "milk", False),
+        ("\n\n", "milk", False),
+        ("prose\n", "  padded  ", True),
+    ]:
+        assert module._append_item(body, text, checked) == append_item(body, text, checked)