diff --git a/.apm/agents/auth-expert.agent.md b/.apm/agents/auth-expert.agent.md
index ed6c90456..cd3331860 100644
--- a/.apm/agents/auth-expert.agent.md
+++ b/.apm/agents/auth-expert.agent.md
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ If a code change contradicts the mermaid diagram, the diagram (and matching doc
 
 ## Core Knowledge
 
-- **Token prefixes**: Fine-grained PATs (`github_pat_`), classic PATs (`ghp_`), OAuth user-to-server (`ghu_` — e.g. `gh auth login`), OAuth app (`gho_`), GitHub App install (`ghs_`), GitHub App refresh (`ghr_`)
-- **EMU (Enterprise Managed Users)**: Use standard PAT prefixes (`ghp_`, `github_pat_`). There is NO special prefix for EMU — it's a property of the account, not the token. EMU tokens are enterprise-scoped and cannot access public github.com repos. EMU orgs can exist on github.com or *.ghe.com.
+- **Token prefixes**: Fine-grained PATs (`github_pat_`), classic PATs (`ghp_`), OAuth user-to-server (`ghu_` -- e.g. `gh auth login`), OAuth app (`gho_`), GitHub App install (`ghs_`), GitHub App refresh (`ghr_`)
+- **EMU (Enterprise Managed Users)**: Use standard PAT prefixes (`ghp_`, `github_pat_`). There is NO special prefix for EMU -- it's a property of the account, not the token. EMU tokens are enterprise-scoped and cannot access public github.com repos. EMU orgs can exist on github.com or *.ghe.com.
 - **Host classification**: github.com (public), *.ghe.com (no public repos), GHES (`GITHUB_HOST`), ADO
 - **Git credential helpers**: macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, `gh auth`, `git credential fill`
 - **Rate limiting**: 60/hr unauthenticated, 5000/hr authenticated, primary (403) vs secondary (429)
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ If a code change contradicts the mermaid diagram, the diagram (and matching doc
 ## APM Architecture
 
 - **AuthResolver** (`src/apm_cli/core/auth.py`): Single source of truth. Per-(host, org) resolution. Frozen `AuthContext` for thread safety.
-- **Token precedence**: `GITHUB_APM_PAT_{ORG}` → `GITHUB_APM_PAT` → `GITHUB_TOKEN` → `GH_TOKEN` → `git credential fill`
+- **Token precedence**: `GITHUB_APM_PAT_{ORG}` -> `GITHUB_APM_PAT` -> `GITHUB_TOKEN` -> `GH_TOKEN` -> `git credential fill`
 - **Fallback chains**: unauth-first for validation (save rate limits), auth-first for download
 - **GitHubTokenManager** (`src/apm_cli/core/token_manager.py`): Low-level token lookup, wrapped by AuthResolver
 
@@ -40,18 +40,18 @@ If a code change contradicts the mermaid diagram, the diagram (and matching doc
 
 When reviewing or writing auth code:
 
-1. **Every remote operation** must go through AuthResolver — no direct `os.getenv()` for tokens
+1. **Every remote operation** must go through AuthResolver -- no direct `os.getenv()` for tokens
 2. **Per-dep resolution**: Use `resolve_for_dep(dep_ref)`, never `self.github_token` instance vars
 3. **Host awareness**: Global env vars are checked for all hosts (no host-gating). `try_with_fallback()` retries with `git credential fill` if the token is rejected. HTTPS is the transport security boundary. *.ghe.com and ADO always require auth (no unauthenticated fallback).
-4. **Error messages**: Always use `build_error_context()` — never hardcode env var names
+4. **Error messages**: Always use `build_error_context()` -- never hardcode env var names
 5. **Thread safety**: AuthContext is resolved before `executor.submit()`, passed per-worker
 
 ## Common Pitfalls
 
-- EMU PATs on public github.com repos → will fail silently (you cannot detect EMU from prefix)
+- EMU PATs on public github.com repos -> will fail silently (you cannot detect EMU from prefix)
 - `git credential fill` only resolves per-host, not per-org
 - `_build_repo_url` must accept token param, not use instance var
 - Windows: `GIT_ASKPASS` must be `'echo'` not empty string
-- Classic PATs (`ghp_`) work cross-org but are being deprecated — prefer fine-grained
-- ADO uses Basic auth with base64-encoded `:PAT` — different from GitHub bearer token flow
+- Classic PATs (`ghp_`) work cross-org but are being deprecated -- prefer fine-grained
+- ADO uses Basic auth with base64-encoded `:PAT` -- different from GitHub bearer token flow
 - ADO also supports AAD bearer tokens via `az account get-access-token` (resource `499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798`); precedence is `ADO_APM_PAT` -> az bearer -> fail. Stale PATs (401) silently fall back to the bearer with a `[!]` warning. See the auth skill for the four diagnostic cases.
diff --git a/.apm/skills/auth/SKILL.md b/.apm/skills/auth/SKILL.md
index 7fb2513f3..9ba894486 100644
--- a/.apm/skills/auth/SKILL.md
+++ b/.apm/skills/auth/SKILL.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: auth
 description: >
   Activate when code touches token management, credential resolution, git auth
   flows, GITHUB_APM_PAT, ADO_APM_PAT, AuthResolver, HostInfo, AuthContext, or
-  any remote host authentication — even if 'auth' isn't mentioned explicitly.
+  any remote host authentication -- even if 'auth' isn't mentioned explicitly.
 ---
 
 # Auth Skill
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ ADO hosts (`dev.azure.com`, `*.visualstudio.com`) resolve auth in this order:
 2. AAD bearer via `az account get-access-token --resource 499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798` if `az` is installed and `az account show` succeeds
 3. Otherwise: auth-failed error from `build_error_context`
 
-Token source constants live in `src/apm_cli/core/token_manager.py`: `ADO_APM_PAT = "ADO_APM_PAT"`, `ADO_BEARER_SOURCE = "AAD_BEARER_AZ_CLI"`.
+`ADO_APM_PAT` is the env var name used by the auth flow. The AAD bearer source constant lives in `src/apm_cli/core/token_manager.py` as `GitHubTokenManager.ADO_BEARER_SOURCE = "AAD_BEARER_AZ_CLI"`.
 
 **Stale-PAT silent fallback:** if `ADO_APM_PAT` is rejected with HTTP 401, APM retries with the az bearer and emits:
 
diff --git a/.github/agents/auth-expert.agent.md b/.github/agents/auth-expert.agent.md
index 3d0498439..cd3331860 100644
--- a/.github/agents/auth-expert.agent.md
+++ b/.github/agents/auth-expert.agent.md
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ If a code change contradicts the mermaid diagram, the diagram (and matching doc
 
 ## Core Knowledge
 
-- **Token prefixes**: Fine-grained PATs (`github_pat_`), classic PATs (`ghp_`), OAuth user-to-server (`ghu_` — e.g. `gh auth login`), OAuth app (`gho_`), GitHub App install (`ghs_`), GitHub App refresh (`ghr_`)
-- **EMU (Enterprise Managed Users)**: Use standard PAT prefixes (`ghp_`, `github_pat_`). There is NO special prefix for EMU — it's a property of the account, not the token. EMU tokens are enterprise-scoped and cannot access public github.com repos. EMU orgs can exist on github.com or *.ghe.com.
+- **Token prefixes**: Fine-grained PATs (`github_pat_`), classic PATs (`ghp_`), OAuth user-to-server (`ghu_` -- e.g. `gh auth login`), OAuth app (`gho_`), GitHub App install (`ghs_`), GitHub App refresh (`ghr_`)
+- **EMU (Enterprise Managed Users)**: Use standard PAT prefixes (`ghp_`, `github_pat_`). There is NO special prefix for EMU -- it's a property of the account, not the token. EMU tokens are enterprise-scoped and cannot access public github.com repos. EMU orgs can exist on github.com or *.ghe.com.
 - **Host classification**: github.com (public), *.ghe.com (no public repos), GHES (`GITHUB_HOST`), ADO
 - **Git credential helpers**: macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, `gh auth`, `git credential fill`
 - **Rate limiting**: 60/hr unauthenticated, 5000/hr authenticated, primary (403) vs secondary (429)
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ If a code change contradicts the mermaid diagram, the diagram (and matching doc
 ## APM Architecture
 
 - **AuthResolver** (`src/apm_cli/core/auth.py`): Single source of truth. Per-(host, org) resolution. Frozen `AuthContext` for thread safety.
-- **Token precedence**: `GITHUB_APM_PAT_{ORG}` → `GITHUB_APM_PAT` → `GITHUB_TOKEN` → `GH_TOKEN` → `git credential fill`
+- **Token precedence**: `GITHUB_APM_PAT_{ORG}` -> `GITHUB_APM_PAT` -> `GITHUB_TOKEN` -> `GH_TOKEN` -> `git credential fill`
 - **Fallback chains**: unauth-first for validation (save rate limits), auth-first for download
 - **GitHubTokenManager** (`src/apm_cli/core/token_manager.py`): Low-level token lookup, wrapped by AuthResolver
 
@@ -40,17 +40,18 @@ If a code change contradicts the mermaid diagram, the diagram (and matching doc
 
 When reviewing or writing auth code:
 
-1. **Every remote operation** must go through AuthResolver — no direct `os.getenv()` for tokens
+1. **Every remote operation** must go through AuthResolver -- no direct `os.getenv()` for tokens
 2. **Per-dep resolution**: Use `resolve_for_dep(dep_ref)`, never `self.github_token` instance vars
 3. **Host awareness**: Global env vars are checked for all hosts (no host-gating). `try_with_fallback()` retries with `git credential fill` if the token is rejected. HTTPS is the transport security boundary. *.ghe.com and ADO always require auth (no unauthenticated fallback).
-4. **Error messages**: Always use `build_error_context()` — never hardcode env var names
+4. **Error messages**: Always use `build_error_context()` -- never hardcode env var names
 5. **Thread safety**: AuthContext is resolved before `executor.submit()`, passed per-worker
 
 ## Common Pitfalls
 
-- EMU PATs on public github.com repos → will fail silently (you cannot detect EMU from prefix)
+- EMU PATs on public github.com repos -> will fail silently (you cannot detect EMU from prefix)
 - `git credential fill` only resolves per-host, not per-org
 - `_build_repo_url` must accept token param, not use instance var
 - Windows: `GIT_ASKPASS` must be `'echo'` not empty string
-- Classic PATs (`ghp_`) work cross-org but are being deprecated — prefer fine-grained
-- ADO uses Basic auth with base64-encoded `:PAT` — different from GitHub bearer token flow
+- Classic PATs (`ghp_`) work cross-org but are being deprecated -- prefer fine-grained
+- ADO uses Basic auth with base64-encoded `:PAT` -- different from GitHub bearer token flow
+- ADO also supports AAD bearer tokens via `az account get-access-token` (resource `499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798`); precedence is `ADO_APM_PAT` -> az bearer -> fail. Stale PATs (401) silently fall back to the bearer with a `[!]` warning. See the auth skill for the four diagnostic cases.
diff --git a/.github/skills/auth/SKILL.md b/.github/skills/auth/SKILL.md
index 28f67342a..9ba894486 100644
--- a/.github/skills/auth/SKILL.md
+++ b/.github/skills/auth/SKILL.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: auth
 description: >
   Activate when code touches token management, credential resolution, git auth
   flows, GITHUB_APM_PAT, ADO_APM_PAT, AuthResolver, HostInfo, AuthContext, or
-  any remote host authentication — even if 'auth' isn't mentioned explicitly.
+  any remote host authentication -- even if 'auth' isn't mentioned explicitly.
 ---
 
 # Auth Skill
@@ -26,3 +26,34 @@ All auth flows MUST go through `AuthResolver`. No direct `os.getenv()` for token
 ## Canonical reference
 
 The full per-org -> global -> credential-fill -> fallback resolution flow is in [`docs/src/content/docs/getting-started/authentication.md`](../../../docs/src/content/docs/getting-started/authentication.md) (mermaid flowchart). Treat it as the single source of truth; if behavior diverges, fix the diagram in the same PR.
+
+## Bearer-token authentication for ADO
+
+ADO hosts (`dev.azure.com`, `*.visualstudio.com`) resolve auth in this order:
+
+1. `ADO_APM_PAT` env var if set
+2. AAD bearer via `az account get-access-token --resource 499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798` if `az` is installed and `az account show` succeeds
+3. Otherwise: auth-failed error from `build_error_context`
+
+`ADO_APM_PAT` is the env var name used by the auth flow. The AAD bearer source constant lives in `src/apm_cli/core/token_manager.py` as `GitHubTokenManager.ADO_BEARER_SOURCE = "AAD_BEARER_AZ_CLI"`.
+
+**Stale-PAT silent fallback:** if `ADO_APM_PAT` is rejected with HTTP 401, APM retries with the az bearer and emits:
+
+```
+[!] ADO_APM_PAT was rejected for {host} (HTTP 401); fell back to az cli bearer.
+[!]     Consider unsetting the stale variable.
+```
+
+**Verbose source line** (one per host, emitted under `--verbose`):
+
+```
+[i] dev.azure.com -- using bearer from az cli (source: AAD_BEARER_AZ_CLI)
+[i] dev.azure.com -- token from ADO_APM_PAT
+```
+
+**Diagnostic cases** (`_emit_stale_pat_diagnostic` + `build_error_context` in `src/apm_cli/core/auth.py`):
+
+1. No PAT, no `az`: `No ADO_APM_PAT was set and az CLI is not installed.` -> install `az`, run `az login --tenant <tenant>`, or set `ADO_APM_PAT`.
+2. No PAT, `az` not signed in: `az CLI is installed but no active session was found.` -> run `az login --tenant <tenant>` against the tenant that owns the org, or set `ADO_APM_PAT`.
+3. No PAT, wrong tenant: `az CLI returned a token but the org does not accept it (likely a tenant mismatch).` -> run `az login --tenant <correct-tenant>`, or set `ADO_APM_PAT`.
+4. PAT 401, no `az` fallback: `ADO_APM_PAT was rejected (HTTP 401) and no az cli fallback was available.` -> rotate the PAT, or install `az` and run `az login --tenant <tenant>`.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index d76d9d73c..5cb128b8c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -96,3 +96,45 @@ jobs:
         include-hidden-files: true
         retention-days: 30
         if-no-files-found: error
+
+  # Dogfood the two CI gates we ship and document to users:
+  #   - Gate A (consumer-side): `apm audit --ci` -- lockfile / install fidelity.
+  #   - Gate B (producer-side): regeneration drift -- did someone hand-edit
+  #     a regenerated file under .github/ without updating canonical .apm/?
+  # See microsoft/apm#883 for context. Tier 1 (no secrets needed).
+  apm-self-check:
+    name: APM Self-Check
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      # Installs the APM CLI (latest stable) and runs `apm install` against
+      # this repo's apm.yml. Auto-detects target from the existing .github/
+      # directory and re-integrates local .apm/ content, regenerating
+      # .github/instructions/, .github/agents/, .github/skills/, etc.
+      # Adds `apm` to PATH for subsequent steps.
+      - uses: microsoft/apm-action@v1
+
+      # Gate A: lockfile / install fidelity (consumer-side).
+      # Verifies every file in lockfile.deployed_files exists, ref consistency
+      # between apm.yml and apm.lock.yaml, no orphan packages, and
+      # content-integrity (hidden Unicode) on deployed package content.
+      # Does NOT verify deployed-file content vs lockfile (see #684).
+      - name: apm audit --ci
+        run: apm audit --ci
+
+      # Gate B: regeneration drift (producer-side).
+      # The action's `apm install` step re-integrated local .apm/ into
+      # .github/ via target auto-detection. If anything in the governed
+      # integration directories changed, someone edited the regenerated
+      # output without updating the canonical .apm/ source.
+      - name: Check APM integration drift
+        run: |
+          if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain -- .github/ .claude/ .cursor/ .opencode/)" ]; then
+            echo "::error::APM integration files are out of date."
+            echo "Run 'apm install' locally (with .github/ present) and commit the result."
+            git --no-pager diff -- .github/ .claude/ .cursor/ .opencode/
+            exit 1
+          fi
diff --git a/.github/workflows/merge-gate.yml b/.github/workflows/merge-gate.yml
index 9861a6524..aaa6d85e8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/merge-gate.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/merge-gate.yml
@@ -90,11 +90,11 @@ jobs:
           SHA: ${{ steps.sha.outputs.sha }}
           # All PR-time checks the gate aggregates. Keep this in sync with
           # the underlying workflows. Currently only ci.yml emits PR-time
-          # checks ('Build & Test (Linux)'); ci-integration.yml is
-          # merge_group-only and is NOT polled here.
+          # checks ('Build & Test (Linux)', 'APM Self-Check');
+          # ci-integration.yml is merge_group-only and is NOT polled here.
           # NOTE: 'gate' (this job) MUST NOT appear here -- it would
           # deadlock waiting for itself.
-          EXPECTED_CHECKS: 'Build & Test (Linux)'
+          EXPECTED_CHECKS: 'Build & Test (Linux),APM Self-Check'
           TIMEOUT_MIN: '30'
           POLL_SEC: '30'
         run: |
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7b9ddc62b..0e3496861 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- CI: add `APM Self-Check` to `ci.yml` for `apm audit --ci`, regeneration-drift validation, and `merge-gate.yml` `EXPECTED_CHECKS` coverage. (#885)
+
 ### Changed
 
 - CI: smoke tests in `build-release.yml`'s `build-and-test` job (Linux x86_64, Linux arm64, Windows) are now gated to promotion boundaries (tag/schedule/dispatch) instead of running on every push to main. Push-time smoke duplicated the merge-time smoke gate in `ci-integration.yml` and burned ~15 redundant codex-binary downloads/day. Tag-cut releases still run smoke as a pre-ship gate; nightly catches upstream codex URL drift; merge-time still gates merges into main. (#878)
diff --git a/docs/src/content/docs/integrations/ci-cd.md b/docs/src/content/docs/integrations/ci-cd.md
index cc7a6a29f..021305b51 100644
--- a/docs/src/content/docs/integrations/ci-cd.md
+++ b/docs/src/content/docs/integrations/ci-cd.md
@@ -74,6 +74,10 @@ To ensure `.github/`, `.claude/`, `.cursor/`, and `.opencode/` integration files
 
 This catches cases where a developer updates `apm.yml` but forgets to re-run `apm install`.
 
+:::tip[We dogfood this]
+APM's own repo uses the `APM Self-Check` job in [`microsoft/apm`'s `ci.yml`](https://github.com/microsoft/apm/blob/main/.github/workflows/ci.yml) as a reference implementation for installing APM, running CI validation commands such as `apm audit --ci`, and checking for drift with `git status --porcelain`. Use it as a practical example when wiring these checks into your own workflow.
+:::
+
 ## Azure Pipelines
 
 ```yaml