diff --git a/.github/workflows/gc-moving-witnesses.yml b/.github/workflows/gc-moving-witnesses.yml
index 09ef1d41b1..5d8113dc19 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/gc-moving-witnesses.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/gc-moving-witnesses.yml
@@ -341,6 +341,46 @@ jobs:
                 "PERRY_GC_MOVING_LOOP_POLLS=1." % len(cells))
           PY
 
+      # ★★ The DEPENDENCY-SCALE RUNTIME witness (#7717, the one unmet ask of
+      # #7280).
+      #
+      # Everything above this line is a curated reproducer. #7280 measured why
+      # that is not enough: the curated corpus passed 25/25 while twenty lines
+      # of stock `zod` failed 5/40. It is a distribution problem rather than a
+      # size one — dependency-shaped code is dominated by `js_object_assign_one`
+      # (object spread) and `js_new_function_construct`, populations the curated
+      # files barely produce.
+      #
+      # `gc-root-dominance` already compiles this same corpus, but it is a
+      # STATIC pass over emitted IR and never runs a program, so it cannot see a
+      # runtime-side cache holding a raw heap pointer. This step runs it.
+      #
+      # The env knobs and every assertion live in the script, not here, so that
+      # reproducing a CI failure is one command rather than a re-read of this
+      # YAML. In particular the script pins `PERRY_NO_AUTO_OPTIMIZE=1`, which is
+      # a deliberate departure from the matrix above: the auto-optimizer relinks
+      # the runtime WITHOUT the `diagnostics` feature, and `diagnostics` is what
+      # emits the `[gc-fromspace-protect]` line this gate reads as its proof
+      # that the quarantine engaged.
+      - name: Install the npm dependency the dependency-scale witness runs
+        if: steps.relevance.outputs.run == 'true'
+        # `zod` is this repo's own package.json devDependency, pinned by
+        # package-lock.json and governed by the same soak window as everything
+        # else in that file — not a fixture invented for this job. Same
+        # invocation `gc-root-dominance` uses for the same corpus.
+        run: npm ci --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund
+
+      # GATING. No pipe, no `|| true`. The script asserts its own subject ran
+      # three independent ways — the `[gc-schedule]` verdict, `copying_minors` /
+      # `moved_objects` / `loop_polls` re-read from it, and a non-zero count of
+      # retired from-space page-sets — because `PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE=1` on
+      # a run with no copying minor protects NOTHING and still exits clean.
+      # #7717 records hitting exactly that and nearly recording the wrong
+      # conclusion.
+      - name: Run the dependency-scale runtime witness
+        if: steps.relevance.outputs.run == 'true'
+        run: ./scripts/gc_dep_scale_witness.sh
+
       - name: Upload the witness report
         if: always() && steps.relevance.outputs.run == 'true'
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index b8a0eb7e85..753f15bddb 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with co
 
 Perry is a native TypeScript compiler written in Rust that compiles TypeScript source code directly to native executables. It uses SWC for TypeScript parsing and LLVM for code generation.
 
-**Current Version:** 0.5.1459
+**Current Version:** 0.5.1460
 
 
 ## TypeScript Parity Status
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 0ac0c6c6e9..54362bfd8c 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -5547,7 +5547,7 @@ checksum = "9b4f627cb1b25917193a259e49bdad08f671f8d9708acfd5fe0a8c1455d87220"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -5607,14 +5607,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-api-manifest"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "serde",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-audio-miniaudio"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "cc",
  "libc",
@@ -5622,7 +5622,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-codegen"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "inkwell",
@@ -5639,7 +5639,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-codegen-arkts"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "perry-hir",
@@ -5647,7 +5647,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-codegen-glance"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "perry-hir",
@@ -5655,7 +5655,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-codegen-js"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "perry-dispatch",
@@ -5664,7 +5664,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-codegen-swiftui"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "perry-hir",
@@ -5672,7 +5672,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-codegen-wasm"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -5684,7 +5684,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-codegen-wear-tiles"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "perry-hir",
@@ -5692,7 +5692,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-container-compose"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "async-trait",
@@ -5721,14 +5721,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-container-e2e"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-diagnostics"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
@@ -5736,7 +5736,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-dispatch"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-doc-fixture-my-bindings"
@@ -5747,7 +5747,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-doc-tests"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "clap",
@@ -5762,7 +5762,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-ads"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "block2",
  "objc2",
@@ -5772,7 +5772,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-argon2"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "argon2",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -5780,7 +5780,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-axios"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "reqwest",
@@ -5789,7 +5789,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-bcrypt"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "bcrypt",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -5797,7 +5797,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-better-sqlite3"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "rusqlite",
@@ -5805,7 +5805,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-cheerio"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "scraper",
@@ -5813,7 +5813,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-commander"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "perry-runtime",
@@ -5821,7 +5821,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-cron"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "cron",
@@ -5831,7 +5831,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-dayjs"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -5839,7 +5839,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-decimal"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "rust_decimal",
@@ -5847,7 +5847,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-dotenv"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "serde_json",
@@ -5855,7 +5855,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-ethers"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "rand 0.10.1",
@@ -5863,7 +5863,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-events"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "perry-runtime",
@@ -5871,14 +5871,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-exponential-backoff"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-fastify"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "http-body-util",
@@ -5896,7 +5896,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-fetch"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "lazy_static",
@@ -5909,7 +5909,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-http"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "h2",
@@ -5933,7 +5933,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-ioredis"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "lazy_static",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -5943,7 +5943,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-jsonwebtoken"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "jsonwebtoken",
@@ -5954,7 +5954,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-lru-cache"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "lru",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -5963,7 +5963,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-moment"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -5971,7 +5971,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-mongodb"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "bson",
  "futures-util",
@@ -5983,7 +5983,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-mysql2"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -5993,7 +5993,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-nanoid"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "nanoid",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -6002,7 +6002,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-net"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -6015,7 +6015,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-node-forge"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "const-oid 0.9.6",
  "der 0.7.10",
@@ -6034,7 +6034,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-nodemailer"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "lettre",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -6044,7 +6044,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-pdf"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "printpdf",
@@ -6052,7 +6052,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-pg"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "sqlx",
@@ -6061,7 +6061,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-ratelimit"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "governor",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -6069,7 +6069,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-sharp"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "fast_image_resize",
  "image",
@@ -6079,14 +6079,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-slugify"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-streams"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "lazy_static",
  "perry-ffi",
@@ -6095,7 +6095,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-undici"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "perry-runtime",
@@ -6104,7 +6104,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-uuid"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "uuid",
@@ -6112,7 +6112,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-validator"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ffi",
  "regex",
@@ -6122,7 +6122,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-ws"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "futures-util",
  "lazy_static",
@@ -6135,7 +6135,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ext-zlib"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "brotli",
  "flate2",
@@ -6145,7 +6145,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ffi"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "dashmap",
  "once_cell",
@@ -6154,7 +6154,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-hir"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "perry-api-manifest",
@@ -6172,7 +6172,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-parser"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "perry-diagnostics",
@@ -6184,7 +6184,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-runtime"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -6226,14 +6226,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-runtime-static"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-runtime",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-stdlib"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "aes 0.8.4",
  "aes 0.9.1",
@@ -6328,14 +6328,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-stdlib-static"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-stdlib",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-transform"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "perry-hir",
@@ -6344,14 +6344,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ui-model",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-android"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "itoa",
@@ -6368,7 +6368,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-geisterhand"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "rand 0.10.1",
  "serde",
@@ -6378,7 +6378,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-gtk4"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "cairo-rs 0.22.0",
@@ -6401,7 +6401,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-ios"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "block2",
@@ -6417,7 +6417,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-macos"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "block2",
@@ -6432,7 +6432,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-model"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-test"
@@ -6443,11 +6443,11 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-testkit"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-tvos"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "block2",
@@ -6463,7 +6463,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-visionos"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "block2",
@@ -6479,7 +6479,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-watchos"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "block2",
  "libc",
@@ -6492,7 +6492,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-windows"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "libc",
@@ -6509,14 +6509,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-ui-windows-winui"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "perry-ui-windows",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-updater"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -6532,7 +6532,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "perry-wasm-host"
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 dependencies = [
  "wasmi",
 ]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index d0441dc2c5..431c2eb967 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ codegen-units = 16
 codegen-units = 16
 
 [workspace.package]
-version = "0.5.1459"
+version = "0.5.1460"
 edition = "2021"
 license = "MIT"
 repository = "https://github.com/PerryTS/perry"
diff --git a/changelog.d/7793-dep-scale-runtime-witness.md b/changelog.d/7793-dep-scale-runtime-witness.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..141d4c5df9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/7793-dep-scale-runtime-witness.md
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+**The moving collector now has a dependency-scale RUNTIME witness in CI** (#7717, the one unmet ask of #7280).
+
+Everything gating this family was either a synthetic fixture or a static pass over emitted IR, and neither can observe what the #7154 class actually presents as. `scripts/gc_root_dominance_check.py` reads LLVM IR, so a runtime-side `static` or `thread_local!` holding a raw heap pointer is structurally invisible to it; and the defect is invisible to every runtime GC probe *at* the collection too, because there is nothing for the collector to find — it surfaces cycles later, in a different function, as `TypeError: value is not a function`.
+
+Scale is the point, not size. #7280 measured it: the curated 25-file corpus passed 25/25 while twenty lines of stock `zod` failed 5/40, because dependency-shaped code is dominated by `js_object_assign_one` (object spread) and `js_new_function_construct` — populations the curated files barely produce.
+
+`scripts/gc_dep_scale_witness.sh` runs `test-files/gc-dep-corpus/main.ts` — the same 81-module zod corpus `gc-root-dominance` already compiles for its static check, whose own header always said it "is run as the acceptance workload for the moving collector" — under `PERRY_GC_SCHEDULE_SEED=1 PERRY_GC_SCHEDULE_RATE=1 PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE=1 PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE_DEPTH=800`, and is wired into `gc-moving-witnesses.yml`.
+
+Measured on `main`: 8,020 forced collections, all 8,020 of them copying minors, 852,107 objects relocated, 63,936 back-edge polls, 8,020 retired quarantine page-sets, and the answer byte-identical to the same binary run without the schedule.
+
+**What makes it able to fail.** The trap #7717 names is a run that exits clean having witnessed nothing, so the script asserts its subject ran three independent ways: the `[gc-schedule]` exit verdict; `copying_minors` / `moved_objects` / `loop_polls` re-read from it rather than trusting that the binary still exits 70; and a non-zero count of retired from-space page-sets, because `PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE=1` on a run with no copying minor protects nothing and still exits 0. Both directions were verified by sabotage rather than asserted: with the schedule disabled it fails on the missing verdict, and with the quarantine disabled it fails with "protected NOTHING and this run's cleanliness means nothing" — which is precisely the wrong conclusion #7717 records nearly recording.
+
+Two findings worth keeping:
+
+- **`PERRY_NO_AUTO_OPTIMIZE=1` is load-bearing here**, and is a deliberate departure from `gc_repsel_matrix.sh`, which omits it on purpose. Without it the compile reaches the auto-optimizer, which relinks the runtime as `features=async-runtime,web-fetch` — no `diagnostics`, and `diagnostics` is what emits the `[gc-fromspace-protect]` line this gate reads as its proof. The assertions are fail-closed so a stripped runtime goes red rather than quietly green, but red-for-the-wrong-reason is still a broken gate.
+- **Depth 800 is load-bearing, not decorative.** The quarantine runs saturated on this workload (`sets_held=800/800`), so lowering it silently narrows the window in which a stale dereference is still catchable. The default of 4 is far too small for real code — #7154's own reproducer needed 800.
+
+The gate is deliberately **not** added to branch protection's required contexts: a new gate has never been green, so promoting it immediately would block every open PR. It should be observed on `main` first, then promoted — leaving that second step undone is how `gc-stress` ended up reporting failures without blocking anything.
+
+Also corrected while writing this: #7717 says loop polls are "default off since #7161". They are default **ON** since #7721 — `moving_safepoint_polls_enabled_from_env` is `!matches!(value, Some("0") | Some("off") | Some("false"))` — so the witness does not need to opt into them, and the run above confirms 63,936 polls fired without the flag.
+
+Ported from `PERRY_GC_ZEAL` to `PERRY_GC_SCHEDULE_SEED=1 PERRY_GC_SCHEDULE_RATE=1`
+during the merge audit: #7741 retired the zeal knob between this PR's authoring
+and its landing, and the witness's fail-closed verdict assertion would have gone
+red on the missing `[gc-zeal]` line — red for the wrong reason, which is still a
+broken gate. Re-measured and re-sabotaged post-port; numbers in the merge comment.
diff --git a/scripts/gc_dep_scale_witness.sh b/scripts/gc_dep_scale_witness.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..5056fb8056
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/gc_dep_scale_witness.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# The DEPENDENCY-SCALE RUNTIME witness for the moving collector (#7717, the one
+# unmet ask of #7280).
+#
+# Reproduce a CI failure with exactly this, from the repo root:
+#
+#   npm ci --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund
+#   cargo build --release -p perry -p perry-runtime-static -p perry-stdlib-static
+#   ./scripts/gc_dep_scale_witness.sh
+#
+# The env knobs live HERE and not in the YAML on purpose: a retyped invocation
+# that drops one of them produces a run that exits 0 while witnessing nothing,
+# which is the failure this file exists to prevent.
+#
+# WHY A RUNTIME WITNESS, WHEN TWO STATIC GATES ALREADY COMPILE THIS CORPUS
+#
+# `gc-root-dominance` compiles `test-files/gc-dep-corpus/` and checks the
+# emitted LLVM IR. That cannot see a runtime-side cache holding a raw heap
+# pointer — `scripts/gc_root_dominance_check.py` reads IR, and a `static` or
+# `thread_local!` in perry-runtime is structurally invisible to it. The #7154
+# class is also invisible to every runtime GC probe AT the collection, because
+# there is nothing for the collector to find; it surfaces cycles later, in a
+# different function, as `TypeError: value is not a function`.
+#
+# So the only instrument that can observe it is: run real dependency-shaped code
+# under a collector that relocates constantly, with the from-space quarantine
+# armed deep enough that a stale pointer faults at the faulting instruction
+# instead of silently reading recycled bytes.
+#
+# WHY DEPENDENCY-SCALE RATHER THAN A FIXTURE. #7280 measured it: the curated
+# 25-file corpus passed 25/25 while twenty lines of stock `zod` failed 5/40. It
+# is a distribution problem, not a size one — the dependency-scale corpus is
+# dominated by `js_object_assign_one` (object spread) and
+# `js_new_function_construct`, populations the curated files barely produce.
+#
+# WHAT MAKES THIS ABLE TO FAIL (CLAUDE.md's four ways a gate cannot)
+#
+#   1. No `continue-on-error`, no `|| true`, no pipe between a producer and its
+#      check — every command's status is the gate's status (`set -euo pipefail`).
+#   2. It asserts its SUBJECT RAN, three independent ways, and any one of them
+#      missing is a hard failure:
+#        * the `[gc-schedule]` exit verdict, which since #7604 (ported to the
+#          seeded schedule by #7741) makes the binary itself exit 70 when a
+#          rate-1 run forced no collection or relocated
+#          nothing — so a vacuous run is red without this script's help;
+#        * `copying_minors` and `loop_polls` are re-read here anyway, because
+#          "the binary would have exited 70" is a claim about a version of the
+#          binary, and this gate should not depend on that staying true;
+#        * `[gc-fromspace-protect] retired_set=#N`, because
+#          `PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE=1` on a run with no copying minor
+#          protects NOTHING and still exits clean. #7717 records hitting exactly
+#          that and nearly recording the wrong conclusion.
+#   3. The answer is compared against the same binary run WITHOUT the schedule. A stale
+#      root corrupts values, so identical output across the two is the property
+#      that matters. (It is not diffed against node: the corpus imports zod by
+#      SOURCE PATH — `node_modules/zod/src/index.js` resolving to `.ts` — which
+#      is what makes its modules native to Perry and what node cannot resolve.)
+#   4. Promotion to a required context is deliberately NOT done here; a new gate
+#      has never been green, so it is observed on `main` first.
+#
+# DEPTH 800 IS NOT A ROUND NUMBER. `PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE_DEPTH` bounds how
+# many retired page-sets stay quarantined, and the default of 4 is far too small
+# for real code: #7154's own reproducer needed 800 because the value crossed 600
+# polls between its last valid observation and its stale use. Measured on this
+# workload the quarantine runs saturated — `sets_held=800/800` — so the depth is
+# load-bearing rather than decorative, and lowering it silently narrows the
+# window in which a stale dereference can still be caught.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+cd "$ROOT"
+
+PERRY_BIN="${PERRY_BIN:-$ROOT/target/release/perry}"
+RUNTIME_DIR="${PERRY_RUNTIME_DIR:-$ROOT/target/release}"
+ENTRY="${ENTRY:-test-files/gc-dep-corpus/main.ts}"
+OUT_DIR="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$OUT_DIR"' EXIT
+
+fail() { echo "::error::$*" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+[ -x "$PERRY_BIN" ] || fail "PERRY_BIN=$PERRY_BIN is not executable. Build: cargo build --release -p perry -p perry-runtime-static -p perry-stdlib-static"
+for lib in libperry_runtime.a libperry_stdlib.a; do
+  [ -s "$RUNTIME_DIR/$lib" ] || fail "$RUNTIME_DIR/$lib is missing. perry-runtime and perry-stdlib are rlib-only; the archives come from the -static wrapper crates."
+done
+# The dependency IS the test. Its absence must be an error rather than a
+# silently smaller witness.
+[ -f node_modules/zod/src/index.ts ] || fail "node_modules/zod/src/index.ts is missing — run: npm ci --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund"
+[ -f "$ENTRY" ] || fail "$ENTRY is missing"
+
+export PERRY_RUNTIME_DIR="$RUNTIME_DIR"
+# Same reason gc-moving-witnesses.yml sets it: PERRY_GC_MOVING_LOOP_POLLS is a
+# compile-time gate that build_cache.rs does not key (#7183), so the build-level
+# cache cannot tell a polled binary from an unpolled one. The object cache does
+# key it; disabling the build cache costs one compile here.
+export PERRY_DISABLE_BUILD_CACHE=1
+# THIS ONE IS NOT OPTIONAL, and it is where this script deliberately departs
+# from `scripts/gc_repsel_matrix.sh`, which omits it on purpose.
+#
+# Measured while writing this: without it the compile reaches the
+# auto-optimizer, which RELINKS the runtime as
+# `features=async-runtime,web-fetch` — note what is absent. `diagnostics` is
+# what emits `[gc-fromspace-protect]`, i.e. the only evidence that the
+# quarantine engaged at all, and it is one of the three things this gate
+# asserts. The matrix can afford to let the auto-optimizer choose because it
+# re-reads whichever trace format it gets; this witness cannot, because a
+# stripped runtime removes its evidence rather than changing its shape.
+#
+# The assertions below are fail-closed, so a stripped runtime would go red
+# rather than quietly pass — but red-for-the-wrong-reason is still a broken
+# gate, and the relink also costs minutes of CI on every run.
+export PERRY_NO_AUTO_OPTIMIZE=1
+
+BIN="$OUT_DIR/gc-dep-witness"
+echo "==> compiling $ENTRY"
+"$PERRY_BIN" "$ENTRY" -o "$BIN" || fail "the witness workload did not compile"
+[ -x "$BIN" ] || fail "$BIN was not produced"
+
+echo "==> baseline run (no schedule), for the answer to be compared against"
+"$BIN" > "$OUT_DIR/plain.out" 2> "$OUT_DIR/plain.err" \
+  || fail "the workload failed WITHOUT the schedule — that is a plain breakage, not a rooting witness. stderr: $(tail -5 "$OUT_DIR/plain.err")"
+[ -s "$OUT_DIR/plain.out" ] || fail "the workload printed nothing; there is no answer to compare"
+
+echo "==> witness run: rate-1 schedule + from-space quarantine at depth 800"
+# PERRY_GC_DIAG=1 is what emits `[gc-fromspace-protect]`, which is the only
+# evidence that the quarantine engaged. Both are eprintln-only diagnostics.
+set +e
+PERRY_GC_SCHEDULE_SEED=1 \
+PERRY_GC_SCHEDULE_RATE=1 \
+PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE=1 \
+PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE_DEPTH=800 \
+PERRY_GC_DIAG=1 \
+  "$BIN" > "$OUT_DIR/sched.out" 2> "$OUT_DIR/sched.err"
+status=$?
+set -e
+
+if [ "$status" -ne 0 ]; then
+  echo "--- last 40 lines of witness stderr ---" >&2
+  tail -40 "$OUT_DIR/sched.err" >&2 || true
+  case "$status" in
+    70) fail "the rate-1 run exercised nothing (exit 70). This is NOT a pass: see the [gc-schedule] lines above for which of forced_collections / copying_minors / loop_polls was zero." ;;
+    139|134|11) fail "the witness FAULTED under the from-space quarantine (exit $status). This is the #7154 class doing what it does: a stale from-space pointer was dereferenced. The reporter above names the address, the retiring minor, and the last-known object's type." ;;
+    *) fail "the witness exited $status under the schedule" ;;
+  esac
+fi
+
+if ! diff -u "$OUT_DIR/plain.out" "$OUT_DIR/sched.out" > "$OUT_DIR/answer.diff"; then
+  echo "--- answer differs between the plain and scheduled runs ---" >&2
+  cat "$OUT_DIR/answer.diff" >&2
+  fail "the workload computed a DIFFERENT answer under a relocating collector. A stale root corrupts values; this is the symptom without the fault."
+fi
+
+verdict="$(grep -F '[gc-schedule] forced_collections=' "$OUT_DIR/sched.err" | tail -1 || true)"
+[ -n "$verdict" ] || fail "no [gc-schedule] verdict line was printed, so nothing proves a collection happened. Were PERRY_GC_SCHEDULE_SEED=1 PERRY_GC_SCHEDULE_RATE=1 actually set, and is this binary new enough to emit the rate-1 verdict (#7604, retired-zeal port #7741)?"
+
+read_field() { echo "$verdict" | grep -oE "$1=[0-9]+" | cut -d= -f2; }
+cycles="$(read_field copying_minors)"
+moved="$(read_field moved_objects)"
+polls="$(read_field loop_polls)"
+: "${cycles:=0}" "${moved:=0}" "${polls:=0}"
+
+[ "$cycles" -gt 0 ] || fail "copying_minors=0 — nothing was relocated, so a stale-root witness could not have failed no matter how broken the rooting is."
+[ "$moved" -gt 0 ] || fail "moved_objects=0 — the collector ran but relocated nothing, which is the same vacuous result."
+# Back-edge polls are what put a collection INSIDE a loop body. Without them a
+# rate-1 run only collects at event-loop boundaries and no loop is covered.
+[ "$polls" -gt 0 ] || fail "loop_polls=0 — every collection came from an event-loop boundary, so no loop body was covered. Codegen emits no poll for a provably alloc-free body, nor for the specialized for/for-of/for-in lowerings."
+
+retired="$(grep -cF '[gc-fromspace-protect]' "$OUT_DIR/sched.err" || true)"
+: "${retired:=0}"
+[ "$retired" -gt 0 ] || fail "the from-space quarantine never retired a page-set, so PERRY_GC_PROTECT_FROMSPACE=1 protected NOTHING and this run's cleanliness means nothing (#7717)."
+
+echo
+echo "$verdict"
+echo "[gc-dep-scale-witness] retired page-sets: $retired"
+echo "[gc-dep-scale-witness] answer identical with and without a relocating collector:"
+sed 's/^/    /' "$OUT_DIR/plain.out"
+echo "[gc-dep-scale-witness] PASS"