diff --git a/docs/adoption-status.md b/docs/adoption-status.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b91813
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/adoption-status.md
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# `rivet-validate` adoption status
+
+This file records the most recent run of
+[`scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh`](../scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh)
+across PulseEngine repositories. It is the audit deliverable for
+[issue #187](https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet/issues/187).
+
+## How to refresh
+
+The audit script needs sibling clones of every PulseEngine repository
+(it walks a workspace directory and does not call out to the network).
+A typical refresh looks like:
+
+```sh
+mkdir -p /tmp/pe-workspace
+cd /tmp/pe-workspace
+for r in kiln loom meld relay rivet sigil spar synth gale wohl; do
+    git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/pulseengine/$r.git
+done
+
+cd /path/to/rivet
+scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh /tmp/pe-workspace \
+    > docs/adoption-status.md
+```
+
+Replace this placeholder with the script output and commit. The
+intention is for a CI job (Phase 4 of the V&V coverage initiative) to
+do the refresh periodically and open a PR when the status changes; that
+job is not yet wired up.
+
+## Latest recorded run
+
+> **placeholder** — replace this section with the output of
+> `scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh` against a fresh workspace.
+
+## Related
+
+- [`docs/pre-commit.md`](pre-commit.md) — canonical hook configuration
+  and adoption recipe.
+- [Issue #187](https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet/issues/187) —
+  enforcement tracking issue.
+- [Issue #184](https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet/issues/184) —
+  pulseengine-wide V&V coverage initiative (Phase 4).
diff --git a/docs/pre-commit.md b/docs/pre-commit.md
index b9f6881..c34c6b5 100644
--- a/docs/pre-commit.md
+++ b/docs/pre-commit.md
@@ -83,15 +83,101 @@ in a trailing comment so an adopter can grep-trim the file to their tier.
 
 ## Installing `rivet` for hooks
 
-Two tested install paths:
+Three tested install paths, in increasing order of reproducibility:
+
+- **GitHub release binary** (recommended for CI and end-user machines):
+  download the prebuilt `rivet` binary attached to the `vX.Y.Z` release
+  from <https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet/releases> and place it on
+  `PATH`. Tags are immutable; pinning to a tag pins the toolchain.
+- **`cargo install --git`** (recommended when matching a specific
+  commit, e.g. an unreleased fix):
+  ```sh
+  cargo install --git https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet \
+                --tag v0.8.0 \
+                rivet-cli
+  ```
+  Always pass `--tag` or `--rev` — the bare command picks `HEAD` of the
+  default branch and silently drifts between developer setups.
+- **Workspace build** (rivet itself, monorepo developers):
+  `cargo run --release -p rivet-cli -- validate`. The
+  template's `entry:` for `rivet-validate` already does this so rivet's
+  own checkout works without an external install.
+
+### Version-pinning
+
+For adopter repositories, pin the rivet version your hooks use so the
+diff between developer machines and CI stays empty.
+
+Two equivalent patterns work today:
+
+```yaml
+# Option 1 — `cargo install` step in CI, then a system-language local hook.
+# Suited to CI/CD pipelines.
+- id: rivet-validate
+  name: rivet validate (dogfood)
+  entry: rivet validate
+  language: system          # rivet must already be on PATH
+  pass_filenames: false
+  files: '(artifacts/.*\.yaml|schemas/.*\.yaml|safety/.*\.yaml|rivet\.yaml)$'
+```
+
+```yaml
+# Option 2 — explicit additional_dependencies on the local hook.
+# Suited to developer pre-commit installs once a binary release wrapper
+# is published. (Tracking: pulseengine/rivet#187.)
+- id: rivet-validate
+  name: rivet validate (dogfood)
+  entry: rivet validate
+  language: system
+  additional_dependencies: ['rivet==0.8.0']  # pinned binary version
+  pass_filenames: false
+  files: '(artifacts/.*\.yaml|schemas/.*\.yaml|safety/.*\.yaml|rivet\.yaml)$'
+```
+
+Pin to the **same** version your CI uses. If you bump in CI, bump here in
+the same PR — drift between the two is the failure mode this hook
+exists to prevent.
+
+## Failure mode (what the developer sees)
+
+When `rivet validate` finds a problem, the pre-commit hook fails the
+commit and prints the validator's report verbatim. A typical failure
+looks like:
+
+```
+rivet validate (dogfood)..................................................Failed
+- hook id: rivet-validate
+- exit code: 1
+
+Loaded 142 artifacts from artifacts
+ERROR: [REQ-042] link 'verifies' requires at least 1 target, found 0
+ERROR: [REQ-091] broken cross-ref: missing artifact 'TST-007'
+WARN:  [DD-019] field 'status' has no declared value
+
+Result: FAIL (2 errors, 1 warnings, 1 broken cross-refs)
+```
+
+Each error line carries the artifact id, the specific link or field at
+fault, and the reason. Fix the underlying artifact YAML, re-stage, and
+re-commit.
+
+> **`--no-verify` is not a fix.** The hook gates *local* drift, not
+> upstream policy. CI runs the same `rivet validate` as a required
+> status check; bypassing the hook only delays the failure to the PR.
+
+## Adoption audit
+
+The repo ships an audit script that surveys a workspace of repository
+clones and reports which of them register the `rivet-validate` hook:
+
+```sh
+scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh /path/to/workspace > docs/adoption-status.md
+```
 
-- **Cargo:** `cargo install --git https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet
-  rivet-cli` (pin a tag/sha for reproducibility).
-- **Pre-commit `additional_dependencies`** (preferred for adopters): once a
-  binary release exists, the `rivet-validate` and `rivet-commit-msg`
-  entries can be wrapped in a pre-commit `local` repo with
-  `additional_dependencies: [rivet@<version>]`. Tracking issue:
-  [#187](https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet/issues/187).
+The script exits non-zero when a gap is present, so it can be wired
+into a periodic CI job that publishes the latest gap list. See
+[`docs/adoption-status.md`](adoption-status.md) for the most recent
+recorded run.
 
 ## Drift policy
 
@@ -109,6 +195,8 @@ adopter's `docs/pre-commit.md` as an explicit opt-out with rationale.
 ## See also
 
 - [`templates/pre-commit/.pre-commit-config.yaml`](../templates/pre-commit/.pre-commit-config.yaml) — the template itself
+- [`scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh`](../scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh) — workspace audit script
+- [`docs/adoption-status.md`](adoption-status.md) — most recent audit run
 - [Issue #186](https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet/issues/186) — canonical-template tracking issue
 - [Issue #187](https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet/issues/187) — `rivet-validate` enforcement across repos
 - [Issue #185](https://github.com/pulseengine/rivet/issues/185) — `cargo-mutants` adoption (T3)
diff --git a/scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh b/scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5d9b869
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Audit rivet-validate hook adoption across a workspace of repository clones.
+#
+# Surveys every directory under WORKSPACE that contains a rivet.yaml and
+# checks whether its .pre-commit-config.yaml registers the rivet-validate
+# hook. Emits a markdown gap report to stdout suitable for pasting into
+# docs/adoption-status.md or an issue body.
+#
+# Tracking: pulseengine/rivet#187 (V&V coverage initiative — Phase 4).
+#
+# Usage:
+#   scripts/audit-rivet-validate-adoption.sh [WORKSPACE]
+#
+# WORKSPACE defaults to the parent of the rivet checkout. Set RIVET_AUDIT_QUIET=1
+# to suppress per-repo progress output on stderr.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+WORKSPACE="${1:-$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)}"
+QUIET="${RIVET_AUDIT_QUIET:-0}"
+
+if [[ ! -d "$WORKSPACE" ]]; then
+    echo "error: workspace '$WORKSPACE' is not a directory" >&2
+    exit 2
+fi
+
+log() { [[ "$QUIET" -eq 1 ]] || echo "$@" >&2; }
+
+declare -a HOOKED_REPOS=()
+declare -a GAP_REPOS=()
+declare -a NO_HOOK_CONFIG_REPOS=()
+
+while IFS= read -r -d '' rivet_yaml; do
+    repo_dir="$(dirname "$rivet_yaml")"
+    repo_name="$(basename "$repo_dir")"
+    log "scanning $repo_name"
+
+    config="$repo_dir/.pre-commit-config.yaml"
+    if [[ ! -f "$config" ]]; then
+        NO_HOOK_CONFIG_REPOS+=("$repo_name")
+        continue
+    fi
+
+    # Match either a `- id: rivet-validate` line or a `name: rivet validate ...`
+    # line; either form indicates the hook is wired up.
+    if grep -Eq '^[[:space:]]*-[[:space:]]+id:[[:space:]]*rivet-validate[[:space:]]*$' "$config" \
+       || grep -Eq '^[[:space:]]*name:[[:space:]]+rivet validate' "$config"; then
+        HOOKED_REPOS+=("$repo_name")
+    else
+        GAP_REPOS+=("$repo_name")
+    fi
+done < <(find "$WORKSPACE" -mindepth 2 -maxdepth 3 -name rivet.yaml -not -path '*/.git/*' -print0)
+
+total=$(( ${#HOOKED_REPOS[@]} + ${#GAP_REPOS[@]} + ${#NO_HOOK_CONFIG_REPOS[@]} ))
+
+cat <<EOF
+# rivet-validate hook adoption audit
+
+Workspace: \`$WORKSPACE\`
+Generated: $(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
+
+| Status | Count |
+|---|---|
+| Hook installed | ${#HOOKED_REPOS[@]} |
+| Hook missing (gap) | ${#GAP_REPOS[@]} |
+| No \`.pre-commit-config.yaml\` | ${#NO_HOOK_CONFIG_REPOS[@]} |
+| **Total \`rivet.yaml\` repos** | $total |
+
+EOF
+
+if (( ${#HOOKED_REPOS[@]} > 0 )); then
+    echo "## Adopted"
+    echo
+    for r in "${HOOKED_REPOS[@]}"; do echo "- $r"; done
+    echo
+fi
+
+if (( ${#GAP_REPOS[@]} > 0 )); then
+    echo "## Gap (has \`.pre-commit-config.yaml\` but no \`rivet-validate\` hook)"
+    echo
+    for r in "${GAP_REPOS[@]}"; do echo "- $r"; done
+    echo
+fi
+
+if (( ${#NO_HOOK_CONFIG_REPOS[@]} > 0 )); then
+    echo "## No pre-commit framework"
+    echo
+    for r in "${NO_HOOK_CONFIG_REPOS[@]}"; do echo "- $r"; done
+    echo
+fi
+
+# Exit 1 if any gap is present so this script can be wired into CI as a gate.
+if (( ${#GAP_REPOS[@]} > 0 )); then
+    exit 1
+fi