feat(profiles): prune the gstack catalog, add max, honor a removed denylist

Nine gstack skills leave every profile (ship is trunk-based on Gitea,
land-and-deploy auto-merges and deploys, setup-deploy, autoplan reads
paths that do not exist here, context-save has no restore, learn is an
unused parallel store, careful and guard hooks never fired, design-shotgun
needs an absent OpenAI key). lib/gstack-removed.sh is the single denylist;
profile.sh gstack on and toggle-external.sh enable gstack skip it.

full now carries everything every other profile carries (user rule), minus
the parked make-pdf, diagram and 21st-ai/ui-explore/ui-review, which live
in the new max profile together with pr-review-toolkit. The 21st trio also
leaves web, web-full and design (redundant with impeccable + ui-ux-pro-max).

lib/tests/profile-census.test.sh asserts the invariants live and on a
baseline fixture plus one mutant per invariant; gstack-removed.test.sh
covers both restore paths.

README.md

@@ -172,12 +172,12 @@ a different package, ships its own conflicting `graphify` bin) — see
 | `/web-validate` | W3C HTML/CSS validity + WCAG 2.1 accessibility audit |
 | `/geo` | GEO-only audit — AI-search visibility (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini…) |
 | `/client-handover` | Final project delivery — audits + branded deliverable (Markdown / HTML / PDF) |
-| `/profile` | Activate a skill profile (web / seo / web-full / full / backend / design / dev / qa / audit / minimal) (default: full) |
+| `/profile` | Activate a skill profile (web / seo / web-full / full / max / backend / design / dev / qa / audit / minimal) (default: full) |
 | `/tour` | Grouped all-axes sweep — cleanup + security + reconcile + doc, fix and loop until clean |
 
 > This table lists personal skills. Gstack skills (investigate, review, retro,
-> office-hours, context-save, context-restore, cso…) and marketplace plugins add
+> office-hours, cso…) and marketplace plugins add many more — run
-> many more — run `/skills-perso` to list your hand-written skills, or browse `skills/`.
+> `/skills-perso` to list your hand-written skills, or browse `skills/`.
 
 ---
 
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ make update                 # update Claude Code, config, submodules, plugins, a
 make test                   # run deterministic tests (lib/tests/*.test.sh + lib/seo-data/*.test.sh + lib/gitflow-test.sh + lib/tests/run-*.sh)
 make onboard                # onboard an existing project (run from its dir)
 make seo-connect            # connect a Google account for /seo FULL (OAuth consent)
-make profile cmd="set X"    # activate a skill profile (web/seo/web-full/full/backend/design/dev/qa/audit/minimal)
+make profile cmd="set X"    # activate a skill profile (web/seo/web-full/full/max/backend/design/dev/qa/audit/minimal)
 make profile-list           # list skill profiles
 make profile-current        # show the active profile (full when none selected)
 make profile-reset          # go to the default profile (full)

USAGE.md

@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ Tu veux...
 | `/pdf-translate` | Traduire un PDF vers une autre langue | Sortie HTML fidèle (images, layout, style préservés) |
 | `/impeccable` | Audit/polish design + détecteur anti-slop déterministe | 23 verbes ; `npx impeccable detect` (exit 0/2) |
 | `/tour` | Sweep groupé sur un ou plusieurs projets | Sécu + nettoyage + reconcile + doc, boucle jusqu'à un pass propre |
-| `/profile` | Changer le profil de skills | web / seo / web-full / full / backend / design / dev / qa / audit / minimal |
+| `/profile` | Changer le profil de skills | web / seo / web-full / full / max / backend / design / dev / qa / audit / minimal |
 
 > Cette table couvre les skills personnels principaux. Les plugins (gstack,
 > pr-review-toolkit…) et marketplaces externes en ajoutent beaucoup d'autres —

lib/gstack-removed.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# ============================================================
+# lib/gstack-removed.sh — the gstack skills this config never exposes
+#
+# Single source for the denylist. Sourced by lib/profile.sh
+# (enable_all_gstack, enable_skill) and lib/toggle-external.sh
+# (`enable gstack`), read by lib/tests/profile-census.test.sh. A name
+# listed here is in no profile, `max` included, and every "bring gstack
+# back" path skips it. Decided 2026-09-28 (skill-catalog prune, user go):
+#
+#   ship             base = origin/HEAD = main on Gitea, skips develop
+#   land-and-deploy  `gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch` then deploys
+#   setup-deploy     companion of land-and-deploy (Claude never deploys)
+#   autoplan         reads ~/.claude/skills/gstack/plan-*/ paths that do
+#                    not exist in this install
+#   context-save     its pair context-restore is not linked; never used
+#   learn            parallel JSONL store outside .claude/memory, unused
+#   careful, guard   hooks exit 127 (missing bin path) — vacuous; the
+#                    house permissions.deny is stricter (BDR-095)
+#   design-shotgun   mockups need OPENAI_API_KEY, absent
+#
+# No `set -euo pipefail` here (sourced lib, mirrors lib/detect-plugins.sh).
+# ============================================================
+
+GSTACK_REMOVED=(ship land-and-deploy setup-deploy autoplan context-save
+  learn careful guard design-shotgun)
+
+# gstack_is_removed <name> — exit 0 when <name> is on the denylist.
+gstack_is_removed() {
+  local name="$1" entry
+  for entry in "${GSTACK_REMOVED[@]}"; do
+    [ "$entry" = "$name" ] && return 0
+  done
+  return 1
+}

lib/profile.sh

@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@ PROFILES_DIR="$REPO/lib/profiles"
 ACTIVE_CACHE="$REPO/.active-profile"  # statusline reads this — keep fast (single-line file, profile name only)
 DEFAULT_PROFILE="full"  # profile in force when none is selected (cache absent, empty, or legacy "none")
 
+# GSTACK_REMOVED + gstack_is_removed() — single source, honored by every
+# "bring gstack back" path below (enable_all_gstack, enable_skill).
+# shellcheck source=lib/gstack-removed.sh disable=SC1091
+source "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/gstack-removed.sh"
+
 # Plugins that are toggle-managed by `set`. Anything NOT in this list is
 # never auto-disabled — protects always-on plugins (security-guidance,
 # superpowers) and unrelated user plugins. Add a plugin here only when its
@@ -313,7 +318,11 @@ enable_skill() {
   local skill="$1" type="$2"
   case "$type" in
     gstack)
-      if [ -e "$DISABLED_DIR/gstack__$skill" ]; then
+      if gstack_is_removed "$skill"; then
+        warn "refusing to enable removed skill: $skill (lib/gstack-removed.sh \
+— a profile census failure, not a crash)"
+        return 0
+      elif [ -e "$DISABLED_DIR/gstack__$skill" ]; then
         rm -rf "${SKILLS_DIR:?}/${skill:?}"
         mv "$DISABLED_DIR/gstack__$skill" "$SKILLS_DIR/$skill"
         ok "enabled: $skill"
@@ -454,18 +463,27 @@ disable_skill() {
 # ── Shared gstack operations ──────────────────────────────
 
 # Re-enable every gstack skill parked in skills-disabled/ (move gstack__*
-# back into skills/). Shared by cmd_reset and `gstack on`. Side effects
+# back into skills/), skipping a name lib/gstack-removed.sh denies (left
-# only; prints one confirmation per restored skill.
+# parked — the policy line goes to stderr). Shared by cmd_reset and
+# `gstack on`. Echoes the REAL restored count (skipped names excluded) on
+# stdout so the caller can report it accurately; per-skill confirmations
+# go to stderr so that count is the only thing captured with `$(...)`.
 enable_all_gstack() {
-  local entry name
+  local entry name restored=0
-  [ -d "$DISABLED_DIR" ] || return 0
+  [ -d "$DISABLED_DIR" ] || { echo 0; return 0; }
   for entry in "$DISABLED_DIR"/gstack__*; do
     [ -e "$entry" ] || continue
     name="$(basename "$entry" | sed 's/^gstack__//')"
+    if gstack_is_removed "$name"; then
+      info "skipped (removed by policy, lib/gstack-removed.sh): $name" >&2
+      continue
+    fi
     rm -rf "${SKILLS_DIR:?}/${name:?}"
     mv "$entry" "$SKILLS_DIR/$name"
-    ok "re-enabled: $name"
+    ok "re-enabled: $name" >&2
+    restored=$((restored + 1))
   done
+  echo "$restored"
 }
 
 # Disable gstack-origin skills not listed in the given profile. Shared by
@@ -648,13 +666,13 @@ cmd_gstack() {
     on)
       # Restore whatever is parked, but DON'T touch active-profile — the
       # user is adding gstack on top of their current profile, not clearing it.
-      local parked
+      local parked restored
       parked="$(parked_gstack_count)"
       if [ "$parked" -eq 0 ]; then
         info "nothing parked — gstack skills are linked per profile (set/apply/reset)"
       else
-        enable_all_gstack
+        restored="$(enable_all_gstack)"
-        ok "$parked parked gstack skills restored"
+        ok "$restored parked gstack skills restored"
       fi
       ;;
     off)

lib/profiles/backend.profile

@@ -18,11 +18,8 @@ observability-and-instrumentation  external
 deprecation-and-migration          external
 ci-cd-and-automation               external
 
-# Ship + review + land
+# Review
-ship
 review
-context-save
-land-and-deploy
 
 # Second opinion for hard problems
 codex
@@ -32,11 +29,8 @@ cso
 health
 
 # Session hygiene
-careful
 freeze
 unfreeze
-guard
-learn
 retro
 
 # pr-review-toolkit removed (audit 2026-07-02 #12 — ~2.2k tokens, PR-only):

lib/profiles/design.profile

@@ -11,13 +11,12 @@
 # GATE-BLOCK: 21st 21st-ui-build
 
 # Core design skills (gstack)
-design-shotgun
 design-review
 design-consultation
 design-html
 plan-design-review
 
-# Browser tooling — design-review and design-shotgun rely on it
+# Browser tooling — design-review relies on it
 browse
 open-gstack-browser
 setup-browser-cookies
@@ -44,10 +43,7 @@ site-motion                       personal
 # External: 21st.dev pack — CLI-driven (no MCP, no API key). 21st-registry
 # and 21st-design-sync are publishing flows; installed but left parked.
 21st-ui-build                     external
-21st-ui-explore                   external
-21st-ui-review                    external
 21st-cli-use                      external
-21st-ai                           external
 
 # Plugin (auto-toggle)
 ui-ux-pro-max                     plugin@ui-ux-pro-max-skill

lib/profiles/dev.profile

@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 # Implementation
 feat                              personal
 ship-feature                      personal
-ship
 
 # Bug fixing
 hotfix                            personal
@@ -23,7 +22,3 @@ commit-change                     personal
 observability-and-instrumentation  external
 deprecation-and-migration          external
 ci-cd-and-automation               external
-
-# Session hygiene
-context-save
-land-and-deploy

lib/profiles/full.profile

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-# DESC: Maximum mode — web-full + plan + dev for end-to-end MVP via /init-project
+# DESC: Default profile — carries everything every other profile carries
-# Activate when: scaffolding new project with /init-project and need
+# (user rule 2026-09-28: full does what each profile does), minus the
-# brainstorm → design → architecture review → scaffold → implement → ship → audit
+# broken or doctrine-breaking gstack skills (lib/gstack-removed.sh) and
-# pipeline available in one session. Superset of web-full + dev.
+# the parked tools (make-pdf, diagram, 21st-ai/ui-explore/ui-review) that
+# live in `max`. One named exception: pr-review-toolkit (see below).
 
 # === Brainstorm + plan-mode reviews ==================================
 office-hours
@@ -9,11 +10,9 @@ plan-ceo-review
 plan-eng-review
 plan-design-review
 plan-devex-review
-autoplan
 spec
 
 # === Design pipeline =================================================
-design-shotgun
 design-review
 design-consultation
 design-html
@@ -35,12 +34,8 @@ refactor                          personal
 code-clean                        personal
 commit-change                     personal
 
-# === Ship + review + land ============================================
+# === Review ===========================================================
-ship
 review
-context-save
-land-and-deploy
-setup-deploy
 
 # === Second opinion ==================================================
 codex
@@ -63,20 +58,15 @@ qa-only
 # === Docs + translation ==============================================
 doc                               personal
 document-release
-diagram
-make-pdf
 pdf-translate                     personal
 
 # === Session hygiene + memory ========================================
 close                             personal
 prune-memory                      personal
 status                            personal
-learn
 retro
-careful
 freeze
 unfreeze
-guard
 
 # === External + plugin + MCP =========================================
 emil-design-eng                   external
@@ -99,10 +89,7 @@ ui-ux-pro-max                     plugin@ui-ux-pro-max-skill
 # or profile-based: bash lib/profile.sh apply audit (audit.profile keeps it;
 # a later `set full` re-disables it — MANAGED_PLUGINS lifecycle).
 21st-ui-build                     external
-21st-ui-explore                   external
-21st-ui-review                    external
 21st-cli-use                      external
-21st-ai                           external
 
 # Personal: motion implementation companion (skills/site-motion)
 site-motion                       personal

lib/profiles/max.profile

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+# DESC: Everything — full + the parked generation/review tools + PR review
+# SUPERSET-OF: full
+# Activate when: you need make-pdf, diagram, the 21st-ai/ui-explore/
+# ui-review generation trio, or pr-review-toolkit, on top of everything
+# full carries. Never a broken or doctrine-breaking gstack skill
+# (lib/gstack-removed.sh) — max is full's superset, not the raw catalog.
+
+# === Brainstorm + plan-mode reviews ==================================
+office-hours
+plan-ceo-review
+plan-eng-review
+plan-design-review
+plan-devex-review
+spec
+
+# === Design pipeline =================================================
+design-review
+design-consultation
+design-html
+
+# === Browser + dogfooding ============================================
+browse
+open-gstack-browser
+setup-browser-cookies
+scrape
+skillify
+
+# === Code work — implementation ======================================
+feat                              personal
+ship-feature                      personal
+hotfix                            personal
+bugfix                            personal
+investigate
+refactor                          personal
+code-clean                        personal
+commit-change                     personal
+
+# === Review ===========================================================
+review
+
+# === Second opinion ==================================================
+codex
+
+# === SEO / GEO / standards / security ================================
+seo                               personal
+geo                               personal
+web-validate                      personal
+harden                            personal
+analyze                           personal
+cso
+
+# === Perf + canary + QA ==============================================
+health
+benchmark
+canary
+qa
+qa-only
+
+# === Docs + translation ==============================================
+doc                               personal
+document-release
+diagram
+make-pdf
+pdf-translate                     personal
+
+# === Session hygiene + memory ========================================
+close                             personal
+prune-memory                      personal
+status                            personal
+retro
+freeze
+unfreeze
+
+# === External + plugin + MCP =========================================
+emil-design-eng                   external
+frontend-design                   external
+design-motion-principles          external
+impeccable                        external
+observability-and-instrumentation  external
+deprecation-and-migration          external
+ci-cd-and-automation               external
+scroll-world-storytelling          external
+build-threejs-scroll-worlds        external
+scroll-scrubbed-visual-sequence    external
+scroll-scrubbed-word-reveal        external
+scroll-progress-timeline           external
+ui-ux-pro-max                     plugin@ui-ux-pro-max-skill
+pr-review-toolkit                 plugin@claude-code-plugins
+21st-ui-build                     external
+21st-ui-explore                   external
+21st-ui-review                    external
+21st-cli-use                      external
+21st-ai                           external
+
+# Personal: motion implementation companion (skills/site-motion)
+site-motion                       personal
+
+# === CLIs (advisory) =================================================
+21st                              cli
+ctx7                              cli
+graphify                          cli
+gsd                               cli

lib/profiles/web-full.profile

@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 # polish, audit, and verify.
 
 # === Design ===========================================================
-design-shotgun
 design-review
 design-consultation
 design-html
@@ -25,9 +24,7 @@ feat                              personal
 ship-feature                      personal
 hotfix                            personal
 bugfix                            personal
-ship
 review
-context-save
 commit-change                     personal
 refactor                          personal
 
@@ -55,10 +52,7 @@ scroll-scrubbed-visual-sequence   external
 scroll-scrubbed-word-reveal       external
 scroll-progress-timeline          external
 21st-ui-build                     external
-21st-ui-explore                   external
-21st-ui-review                    external
 21st-cli-use                      external
-21st-ai                           external
 ui-ux-pro-max                     plugin@ui-ux-pro-max-skill
 
 # Personal: motion implementation companion (skills/site-motion)

lib/profiles/web.profile

@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 # For SEO/GEO audit on top, use web-full or apply seo afterwards.
 
 # Design skills (gstack) — full design pipeline
-design-shotgun
 design-review
 design-consultation
 design-html
@@ -23,9 +22,7 @@ plan-eng-review
 feat                              personal
 ship-feature                      personal
 hotfix                            personal
-ship                                                # gstack
 review                                              # gstack
-context-save                                        # gstack
 commit-change                     personal
 refactor                          personal
 
@@ -51,10 +48,7 @@ site-motion                       personal
 # External: 21st.dev pack (publishing flows 21st-registry / -design-sync
 # stay parked)
 21st-ui-build                     external
-21st-ui-explore                   external
-21st-ui-review                    external
 21st-cli-use                      external
-21st-ai                           external
 
 # Plugin: UI/UX intelligence (auto-toggle)
 ui-ux-pro-max                     plugin@ui-ux-pro-max-skill

lib/tests/gstack-removed.test.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# lib/tests/gstack-removed.test.sh — GSTACK_REMOVED denylist honored by
+# every "bring gstack back" path: profile.sh `gstack on` and
+# toggle-external.sh `enable gstack` both skip a policy-removed name and
+# leave it parked, restoring only what policy allows; gstack_is_removed()
+# itself, positive + negative. Covers contract criterion 17. Hermetic:
+# fixture repo via PROFILE_REPO_OVERRIDE / TOGGLE_EXTERNAL_REPO_OVERRIDE —
+# same harness as lib/tests/profile-default.test.sh and
+# lib/tests/toggle-external-repo-resolution.test.sh.
+set -u
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)"
+pass=0; fail=0
+check() { if [ "$2" = "$3" ]; then pass=$((pass+1)); else fail=$((fail+1));
+  printf 'FAIL %s: got[%s] want[%s]\n' "$1" "$2" "$3"; fi; }
+check_has() { case "$2" in *"$3"*) pass=$((pass+1));; *) fail=$((fail+1));
+  printf 'FAIL %s: [%s] does not contain [%s]\n' "$1" "$2" "$3";; esac; }
+check_not() { case "$2" in *"$3"*) fail=$((fail+1));
+  printf 'FAIL %s: [%s] unexpectedly contains [%s]\n' "$1" "$2" "$3";; *) pass=$((pass+1));; esac; }
+
+# mk_fixture <dir> — minimal repo: profile.sh + toggle-external.sh +
+# gstack-removed.sh under lib/, one removed name (ship) and one kept name
+# (browse) parked in skills-disabled/.
+mk_fixture() {
+  local fx="$1"
+  mkdir -p "$fx/skills" "$fx/skills-disabled/gstack__ship" \
+    "$fx/skills-disabled/gstack__browse" "$fx/lib"
+  cp "$ROOT/lib/profile.sh" "$ROOT/lib/toggle-external.sh" \
+    "$ROOT/lib/gstack-removed.sh" "$fx/lib/"
+}
+
+# --- T1-T5: profile.sh gstack on restores browse, skips + parks ship ---
+FX1="$(mktemp -d)"; mk_fixture "$FX1"
+out="$(PROFILE_REPO_OVERRIDE="$FX1" bash "$FX1/lib/profile.sh" gstack on 2>&1)"
+check     T1-browse-restored "$([ -e "$FX1/skills/browse" ] && echo on || echo off)" on
+check     T2-ship-parked     "$([ -e "$FX1/skills-disabled/gstack__ship" ] && echo p || echo n)" p
+check     T3-ship-not-live   "$([ -e "$FX1/skills/ship" ] && echo on || echo off)" off
+check_has T4-skip-names-ship "$out" "ship"
+check_has T5-real-count      "$out" "1 parked gstack skills restored"
+rm -rf "$FX1"
+
+# --- T6-T9: toggle-external.sh enable gstack — same skip + restore ---
+FX2="$(mktemp -d)"; mk_fixture "$FX2"
+out="$(TOGGLE_EXTERNAL_REPO_OVERRIDE="$FX2" bash "$FX2/lib/toggle-external.sh" enable gstack 2>&1)"
+check     T6-browse-restored "$([ -e "$FX2/skills/browse" ] && echo on || echo off)" on
+check     T7-ship-parked     "$([ -e "$FX2/skills-disabled/gstack__ship" ] && echo p || echo n)" p
+check     T8-ship-not-live   "$([ -e "$FX2/skills/ship" ] && echo on || echo off)" off
+check_has T9-skip-names-ship "$out" "ship"
+rm -rf "$FX2"
+
+# --- T10-T11: toggle-external.sh, only removed names parked — 0 restored,
+# the policy message fires instead of the "re-run gstack setup" hint ---
+FX3="$(mktemp -d)"
+mkdir -p "$FX3/skills" "$FX3/skills-disabled/gstack__ship" "$FX3/lib"
+cp "$ROOT/lib/toggle-external.sh" "$ROOT/lib/gstack-removed.sh" "$FX3/lib/"
+out="$(TOGGLE_EXTERNAL_REPO_OVERRIDE="$FX3" bash "$FX3/lib/toggle-external.sh" enable gstack 2>&1)"
+check_has T10-policy-msg    "$out" "policy-removed skills remain parked"
+check_not T11-no-setup-hint "$out" "re-run gstack setup"
+rm -rf "$FX3"
+
+# --- T12-T13: gstack_is_removed() itself, positive + negative ---
+# shellcheck source=lib/gstack-removed.sh disable=SC1091
+source "$ROOT/lib/gstack-removed.sh"
+gstack_is_removed ship;   check T12-removed-positive "$?" 0
+gstack_is_removed browse; check T13-removed-negative "$?" 1
+
+printf 'PASS=%s FAIL=%s\n' "$pass" "$fail"; [ "$fail" -eq 0 ]

lib/tests/profile-census.test.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# lib/tests/profile-census.test.sh — profile catalog invariants (skill-
+# catalog prune, 2026-09-28): no GSTACK_REMOVED name listed in any
+# profile, exactly one profile carries the `# SUPERSET-OF: full` marker
+# and it is a superset of full + the parked tools + every name any
+# profile carries, and `full` carries every name any other (non-max)
+# profile carries save one named exception (pr-review-toolkit).
+#
+# Hermetic: a passing baseline fixture, then one single-change mutant per
+# invariant (each mutant is a positive control — it MUST be detected).
+# Live part runs against this repo's real lib/profiles/ (a violation
+# there fails the suite for real, same style as
+# lib/tests/skill-routing-census.test.sh).
+set -u
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)"
+# shellcheck source=lib/gstack-removed.sh disable=SC1091
+source "$ROOT/lib/gstack-removed.sh"
+
+# Parked = kept installed, out of `full`, listed only in the superset
+# profile (`max`). Names come from the single denylist above for REMOVED;
+# PARKED has no such shared source (it is a positive allowlist, not a
+# denylist), so it is spelled out here.
+PARKED=(make-pdf diagram 21st-ai 21st-ui-explore 21st-ui-review)
+
+# full carries every name any other (non-max) profile carries, with one
+# named exception: pr-review-toolkit is deliberately out of full (audit
+# 2026-07-02 #12, heaviest single plugin, ~2.2k tokens/session, PR-only
+# use) — measured 2026-09-28: it is the only name any specialized
+# profile carries that full lacks (audit.profile).
+FULL_EXCEPTIONS=(pr-review-toolkit)
+
+pass=0; fail=0
+check() { if [ "$2" = "$3" ]; then pass=$((pass+1)); else fail=$((fail+1));
+  printf 'FAIL %s: got[%s] want[%s]\n' "$1" "$2" "$3"; fi; }
+
+# census_check <profiles_dir> [parked_csv] [exceptions_csv] — one
+# violation code per line on stdout, rc 0 iff none. REMOVED always comes
+# from the sourced denylist (single source, never overridden);
+# PARKED/FULL_EXCEPTIONS default to the real production sets and can be
+# overridden per call (fixture runs use a small standalone catalog).
+census_check() {
+  local dir="$1"
+  # Unset (arg omitted, live call) falls back to the real production
+  # set; an explicitly EMPTY string (fixture calls) means "none" and
+  # must stay empty — hence "-" defaults, never ":-" (which would treat
+  # empty the same as unset and silently pull the real set back in).
+  local parked_csv="${2-$(IFS=,; echo "${PARKED[*]}")}"
+  local exc_csv="${3-$(IFS=,; echo "${FULL_EXCEPTIONS[*]}")}"
+  local removed_csv out
+  removed_csv="$(IFS=,; echo "${GSTACK_REMOVED[*]}")"
+  out=$(python3 - "$dir" "$removed_csv" "$parked_csv" "$exc_csv" <<'PY'
+import glob, os, re, sys
+
+def entries(path):
+    """Entry = first whitespace token of a non-blank, non-comment line."""
+    names = set()
+    for line in open(path, encoding="utf-8"):
+        s = line.strip()
+        if s and not s.startswith("#"):
+            names.add(s.split()[0])
+    return names
+
+def has_marker(path):
+    text = open(path, encoding="utf-8").read()
+    return re.search(r'^# SUPERSET-OF: full\s*$', text, re.M) is not None
+
+def check_removed(by_name, removed):
+    return [f"REMOVED_LISTED:{n}:{e}" for n, ents in by_name.items()
+            for e in sorted(ents & removed)]
+
+def find_superset(files):
+    hits = [p for p in files if has_marker(p)]
+    if not hits:
+        return None, ["NO_SUPERSET"]
+    if len(hits) > 1:
+        return None, ["MANY_SUPERSETS"]
+    return os.path.basename(hits[0])[:-len(".profile")], []
+
+def check_superset_gap(by_name, sname, parked, exceptions):
+    full = by_name.get("full", set())
+    target = full | parked | exceptions
+    return [f"SUPERSET_GAP:{n}" for n in sorted(target - by_name[sname])]
+
+def check_max_gap(by_name, sname, removed):
+    union = set().union(*by_name.values())
+    gap = (union - removed) - by_name[sname]
+    return [f"MAX_GAP:{n}" for n in sorted(gap)]
+
+def check_full_gap(by_name, sname, removed, exceptions):
+    trio = {"21st-ai", "21st-ui-explore", "21st-ui-review"}
+    src = set().union(*(e for n, e in by_name.items()
+                         if n not in ("full", sname)))
+    full = by_name.get("full", set())
+    gap = src - full - removed - trio - exceptions
+    return [f"FULL_GAP:{n}" for n in sorted(gap)]
+
+def main():
+    d, removed_csv, parked_csv, exc_csv = sys.argv[1:5]
+    removed = {x for x in removed_csv.split(",") if x}
+    parked = {x for x in parked_csv.split(",") if x}
+    exceptions = {x for x in exc_csv.split(",") if x}
+
+    files = sorted(glob.glob(os.path.join(d, "*.profile")))
+    by_name = {os.path.basename(p)[:-len(".profile")]: entries(p)
+               for p in files}
+
+    violations = check_removed(by_name, removed)
+    sname, sup_violations = find_superset(files)
+    violations += sup_violations
+    if sname:
+        violations += check_superset_gap(by_name, sname, parked, exceptions)
+        violations += check_max_gap(by_name, sname, removed)
+        violations += check_full_gap(by_name, sname, removed, exceptions)
+
+    # Reason codes only, one per line; no exit here — the bash caller
+    # derives pass/fail from whether this captured output is empty.
+    print("\n".join(violations))
+
+main()
+PY
+)
+  if [ -n "$out" ]; then
+    printf '%s\n' "$out"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+# run_mutant <label> <dir> <code> <flag> — census_check on <dir> (fixture
+# PARKED override, empty FULL_EXCEPTIONS), asserts a non-zero rc AND the
+# presence of <code>; echoes <flag> when both hold (the positive-control
+# marker the contract CHECK greps for).
+run_mutant() {
+  local label="$1" dir="$2" code="$3" flag="$4"
+  local out rc hit nonzero
+  out=$(census_check "$dir" "parked-x" ""); rc=$?
+  [ -n "$out" ] && printf '%s\n' "$out"
+  hit=$(printf '%s\n' "$out" | grep -qxF "$code" && echo yes || echo no)
+  nonzero=$([ "$rc" -ne 0 ] && echo yes || echo no)
+  check "$label-code" "$hit" yes
+  check "$label-nonzero" "$nonzero" yes
+  [ "$hit" = yes ] && [ "$nonzero" = yes ] && echo "$flag"
+}
+
+# ── live: this repo's real profiles dir (a violation here → suite RED) ──
+live_out=$(census_check "$ROOT/lib/profiles"); live_rc=$?
+[ -n "$live_out" ] && printf '%s\n' "$live_out"
+check T1-live-clean "$live_rc" 0
+
+# ── fixtures: baseline + one single-change mutant per invariant ────────
+WORK="$(mktemp -d)"; trap 'rm -rf "$WORK"' EXIT
+BASE="$WORK/baseline"
+mkdir -p "$BASE"
+cat > "$BASE/full.profile" <<'EOF'
+alpha
+beta
+EOF
+cat > "$BASE/qa.profile" <<'EOF'
+alpha
+EOF
+cat > "$BASE/max.profile" <<'EOF'
+# SUPERSET-OF: full
+alpha
+beta
+parked-x
+EOF
+
+base_out=$(census_check "$BASE" "parked-x" ""); base_rc=$?
+[ -n "$base_out" ] && printf '%s\n' "$base_out"
+check T2-fixture-baseline-clean "$base_rc" 0
+[ "$base_rc" -eq 0 ] && echo FIXTURE_BASELINE_OK
+
+# Mutant 1: a REMOVED name (ship) added to a profile other than full.
+M1="$WORK/mutant-removed"; cp -r "$BASE" "$M1"
+printf 'ship\n' >> "$M1/qa.profile"
+run_mutant T3-mutant-removed "$M1" 'REMOVED_LISTED:qa:ship' \
+  FIXTURE_REMOVED_DETECTED
+
+# Mutant 2: the superset profile drops a name full carries.
+M2="$WORK/mutant-superset"; cp -r "$BASE" "$M2"
+sed -i '/^beta$/d' "$M2/max.profile"
+run_mutant T4-mutant-superset "$M2" 'SUPERSET_GAP:beta' \
+  FIXTURE_SUPERSET_DETECTED
+
+# Mutant 3: a non-full, non-superset profile carries a name full lacks.
+M3="$WORK/mutant-fullgap"; cp -r "$BASE" "$M3"
+printf 'gamma\n' >> "$M3/qa.profile"
+run_mutant T5-mutant-fullgap "$M3" 'FULL_GAP:gamma' \
+  FIXTURE_FULLGAP_DETECTED
+
+echo "PASS=$pass FAIL=$fail"
+[ "$fail" -eq 0 ]

lib/tests/profile-default.test.sh

@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ for g in gs-a gs-b gs-c; do
   mkdir -p "$FX/skills-external/gstack/$g"
   touch "$FX/skills-external/gstack/$g/SKILL.md"
 done
-cp "$ROOT/lib/profile.sh" "$ROOT/lib/toggle-external.sh" "$FX/lib/"
+cp "$ROOT/lib/profile.sh" "$ROOT/lib/toggle-external.sh" \
+  "$ROOT/lib/gstack-removed.sh" "$FX/lib/"
 cp "$ROOT/hooks/statusline.sh" "$FX/hooks/"
 
 cat > "$FX/lib/profiles/full.profile" <<'EOF'

lib/tests/profile-set-managed.test.sh

@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ for g in gs-a gs-b gs-c; do
   mkdir -p "$FX/skills-external/gstack/$g"
   touch "$FX/skills-external/gstack/$g/SKILL.md"
 done
-cp "$ROOT/lib/profile.sh" "$ROOT/lib/toggle-external.sh" "$FX/lib/"
+cp "$ROOT/lib/profile.sh" "$ROOT/lib/toggle-external.sh" \
+  "$ROOT/lib/gstack-removed.sh" "$FX/lib/"
 
 # Non-managed external, enabled from the start — must never be touched.
 ln -s "$FX/skills-external/other-ext" "$FX/skills/other-ext"

lib/tests/toggle-external-repo-resolution.test.sh

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ mkdir -p "$SANDBOX/repo/lib" "$SANDBOX/repo/skills-external/emil-design-eng" \
   "$SANDBOX/repo/skills-external/observability-and-instrumentation" \
   "$SANDBOX/repo/skills" "$SANDBOX/home/.claude"
 cp "$HELPER_SRC" "$SANDBOX/repo/lib/toggle-external.sh"
+cp "$(dirname "$HELPER_SRC")/gstack-removed.sh" "$SANDBOX/repo/lib/"
 # mark emil-design-eng ENABLED in the real (physical) repo tree
 ln -s "$SANDBOX/repo/skills-external/emil-design-eng" "$SANDBOX/repo/skills/emil-design-eng"
 # replicate the real ~/.claude/lib -> <repo>/lib symlink

lib/toggle-external.sh

@@ -40,6 +40,12 @@ REPO="${TOGGLE_EXTERNAL_REPO_OVERRIDE:-$(cd -P "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)}"
 SKILLS_DIR="$REPO/skills"
 DISABLED_DIR="$REPO/skills-disabled"
 
+# GSTACK_REMOVED + gstack_is_removed() — single source, honored by the
+# `enable gstack` loop below. Resolved from $0 like REPO above, not from
+# $REPO/lib — gstack-removed.sh sits next to this file wherever it runs.
+# shellcheck source=lib/gstack-removed.sh disable=SC1091
+source "$(dirname "$0")/gstack-removed.sh"
+
 GREEN='\033[0;32m'; YELLOW='\033[1;33m'; RED='\033[0;31m'; NC='\033[0m'
 ok()   { echo -e "${GREEN}✓${NC} $1"; }
 warn() { echo -e "${YELLOW}⚠${NC}  $1"; }
@@ -162,18 +168,25 @@ enable_tool() {
   local tool="$1"
   case "$tool" in
     gstack)
-      local moved=0
+      local moved=0 skipped=0
       if [ -d "$DISABLED_DIR" ]; then
         for entry in "$DISABLED_DIR"/gstack__*; do
           [ -e "$entry" ] || continue
           local name
           name="$(basename "$entry" | sed 's/^gstack__//')"
+          if gstack_is_removed "$name"; then
+            warn "skipped (removed by policy, lib/gstack-removed.sh): $name"
+            skipped=$((skipped + 1))
+            continue
+          fi
           rm -rf "${SKILLS_DIR:?}/${name:?}"
           mv "$entry" "$SKILLS_DIR/$name"
           moved=$((moved + 1))
         done
       fi
-      if [ "$moved" -eq 0 ]; then
+      if [ "$moved" -eq 0 ] && [ "$skipped" -ge 1 ]; then
+        warn "only policy-removed skills remain parked (lib/gstack-removed.sh)"
+      elif [ "$moved" -eq 0 ]; then
         warn "gstack was not disabled — re-run gstack setup to (re)create symlinks"
       else
         ok "gstack enabled ($moved symlinks restored)"

skills/profile/SKILL.md

@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ carrying every gstack + personal skill in every session.
 | `web`      | Public website work — frontend + content + light dev |
 | `seo`      | SEO + GEO + W3C audit — search/AI indexability + standards |
 | `web-full` | Production website end-to-end — `web` + `seo` combined |
-| `full`     | Maximum — web-full + plan + dev for `/init-project` MVP pipeline |
+| `full`     | Default — everything the other profiles carry, minus broken or doctrine-breaking gstack |
+| `max`      | Everything — full + parked tools (make-pdf, diagram, 21st generation trio) + pr-review-toolkit |
 | `backend`  | Backend / API / system dev — no design, no SEO |
 | `design`   | Visual QA, design systems, mockups, polish |
 | `dev`      | Daily code work — features, fixes, refactor, ship (any stack) |