diff --git a/.github/wiki/license-verification.md b/.github/wiki/license-verification.md
index d9ef2de1..9bdab27a 100644
--- a/.github/wiki/license-verification.md
+++ b/.github/wiki/license-verification.md
@@ -4,23 +4,46 @@
 
 ## Fail-Open Policy
 
-The CLI prefers availability over strict revocation. The cache TTL ladder governs behavior when remote validation is unreachable.
+The CLI prefers availability over strict revocation. Two independent clocks govern behavior, and they are easy to confuse:
 
-| Cache age | Behavior | User signal |
-|---|---|---|
-| 0 to 7 days | FAIL-OPEN, silent | None |
-| 7 to 14 days | FAIL-OPEN, warning to stderr | `warning: license cache is N days old; refresh when online` |
-| Over 14 days | Fail-closed, command refuses to run | `error: license cache expired; run 'nself license refresh'` |
-| Bad signature, any age | Fail-closed, always | `error: license signature invalid` |
+- **Cache age** — how long since the CLI last reached `ping.nself.org`. This is the offline ladder below.
+- **License expiry** — the server-reported end of the subscription. See [Post-Expiry Grace](#post-expiry-grace).
+
+### Offline ladder (cache age)
+
+Thresholds are `GraceSoftThreshold` and `GraceHardThreshold` in `internal/license/grace.go`.
+
+| Cache age | State | Behavior | User signal |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Under 72 hours | `valid` | Fail-open, silent | None |
+| 72 hours to 7 days | `grace_soft` | Fail-open, full access, warning | `License validation is N old. Connect to the internet to refresh.` plus the remaining window |
+| Over 7 days | `grace_hard` | **Read-only** — commands still run, writes are refused | `License validation expired (N offline). Paid plugins are in read-only mode.` |
+| Bad signature, any age | — | Fail-closed, always | Signature verification failure |
+
+Two properties of this table are load-bearing and are the ones most often misremembered:
+
+**72 hours, not 7 days, is when the warning starts.** The silent window is deliberately sized to cover a Friday-evening-to-Monday-morning outage *on our side* with margin, so a blip on the license server never alarms a paying customer mid-weekend.
+
+**Past 7 days the CLI degrades to read-only — it does not refuse to run.** `CanProceed` stays true and only `WriteAllowed` flips to false. You keep your stack readable and inspectable while offline; you cannot mutate it until you refresh.
+
+**Plugin installs are stricter than ordinary commands.** `bundleEntitledFromGrace` requires `WriteAllowed`, so once the cache passes 7 days a bundle install is *refused outright* rather than degraded — installing is a write. This is why the [offline licensing page](https://nself.org/docs/licensing/offline) describes the ceiling as failing closed while this page describes it as read-only: same threshold, two different call paths. A revoked license is refused at any cache age on both paths.
+
+The 7-day ceiling does **not** widen alongside the soft threshold. Validation sends only the license key over the wire, with no per-machine identifier, so a local cache is a bare copyable credential. Every extra day of ceiling multiplies that exposure, and 7 days is the accepted tradeoff between outage tolerance and copied-cache abuse.
+
+A bad signature is never accepted. Cache age cannot bypass cryptographic verification — the cache carries an Ed25519 signature that is checked locally on every command.
+
+### Post-expiry grace
 
-A bad signature is never accepted. Cache age cannot bypass cryptographic verification.
+Separately from the offline ladder, a license whose server-reported expiry has passed keeps working for **30 days** (`PostExpiryGraceWindow`), with a warning, before paid plugins go dormant. Reaching this state means the subscription lapsed, not that the network is down; refreshing the cache will not clear it.
 
 ## Configuration
 
 | Variable | Default | Purpose |
 |---|---|---|
-| `NSELF_LICENSE_OFFLINE_MAX_DAYS` | `14` | Hard cap before fail-closed. Set lower for stricter posture. |
-| `NSELF_LICENSE_CACHE_PATH` | `~/.nself/license/cache.json` | Cache file location. Override for shared CI runners or air-gapped hosts. |
+| `LICENSE_CACHE_PATH` | `~/.cache/nself/license.json` | Cache file location. Override for shared CI runners or air-gapped hosts. |
+| `NSELF_LICENSE_FAIL_OPEN` | unset | `=1` replaces the bounded ladder with an **unbounded** cache check on the network-unreachable branch (`checker.go:84-87`). CI and air-gap only. |
+
+The 72h and 7d thresholds themselves are compile-time constants, not configuration — nothing tunes them to a different number. `NSELF_LICENSE_FAIL_OPEN=1` does not move them either; it takes a different branch entirely (`bundleEntitledFromCache`, tier check with no time window at all), which is why it must never be set on a production install. It does not disable revocation or override a server that answers 401/403.
 
 ## Manual Refresh
 
@@ -28,32 +51,49 @@ A bad signature is never accepted. Cache age cannot bypass cryptographic verific
 nself license refresh
 ```
 
-Pulls a fresh signed artifact from `ping.nself.org/license/validate`, replaces the cache, resets the age clock. Run after extended offline periods, after key rotation, or when the warning fires.
+Pulls a fresh signed artifact from `ping.nself.org/license/validate` for every configured key, replaces the cache, and resets the age clock. Run after extended offline periods, after key rotation, or when the warning fires.
 
 ## Air-Gapped Mode
 
-For hosts that never reach the public internet:
+For hosts that never reach the public internet, move a signed cache across the air gap with `export` / `import`. Run the export on a machine that *can* reach `ping.nself.org` and holds the same license key:
+
+```bash
+# On the connected machine
+nself license refresh
+nself license export > license-cache.json
+
+# Transfer the file, then on the air-gapped host
+nself license import license-cache.json
+```
 
-1. Request an offline license key from `cloud.nself.org/account/offline-license`
-2. Save the signed `.nself-offline-license` file
-3. Place the file at `~/.nself/license/offline.key`
-4. Set `NSELF_LICENSE_OFFLINE=1`
+The imported entry keeps its Ed25519 signature and is verified locally, so an air-gapped host gets the same guarantees as a connected one. The transferred cache ages on the same ladder above, so repeat the transfer before the 7-day ceiling to stay out of read-only mode.
 
-The CLI validates the signature locally and skips remote checks. Offline keys carry an embedded expiration (typically 1 year). Renew before expiration through the same workflow.
+`NSELF_LICENSE_SKIP_VERIFY=1` exists for importing an unsigned entry and requires `--force` to be acknowledged explicitly. It bypasses signature verification — do not use it outside local testing.
+
+## Verifying the ladder
+
+`simulate-offline` backdates the cache so you can exercise each band without waiting. It requires `LICENSE_ALLOW_SIMULATION=true` and is disabled by default:
+
+```bash
+LICENSE_ALLOW_SIMULATION=true nself license simulate-offline 1    # silent
+LICENSE_ALLOW_SIMULATION=true nself license simulate-offline 5    # warning
+LICENSE_ALLOW_SIMULATION=true nself license simulate-offline 10   # read-only
+nself license simulate-offline --clear                            # reset
+```
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
-**Cache corruption.** Delete `~/.nself/license/cache.json` and run `nself license refresh`. The cache is regenerable.
+**Cache corruption.** Delete `~/.cache/nself/license.json` and run `nself license refresh`. The cache is regenerable.
 
 **Signature invalid after CLI upgrade.** Run `nself license refresh`. Major version bumps may rotate signing keys.
 
-**Manual signature verification.** There is no separate verify subcommand, every command validates the cached signature locally before it runs (see above). To inspect the cache contents without triggering a network call, print it directly:
+**Manual signature verification.** There is no separate verify subcommand — every command validates the cached signature locally before it runs. To inspect the cache contents without triggering a network call, print it directly:
 
 ```bash
 nself license show --json
 ```
 
-**Stuck in fail-closed.** Connect to the internet and run `nself license refresh`. If the network is restricted, request an offline license key.
+**Stuck in read-only.** The cache is more than 7 days old. Connect to the internet and run `nself license refresh`. If the network is restricted, use the air-gap `export` / `import` flow above.
 
 ## See Also
 
diff --git a/cmd/commands/license_simulate.go b/cmd/commands/license_simulate.go
index e0b2ac29..54ed9d85 100644
--- a/cmd/commands/license_simulate.go
+++ b/cmd/commands/license_simulate.go
@@ -18,10 +18,13 @@ Requires LICENSE_ALLOW_SIMULATION=true (disabled by default in production).
 Backdates the license cache to appear as if the system has been offline
 for the specified number of days.
 
+The grace ladder is keyed on GraceSoftThreshold (72h) and GraceHardThreshold
+(7 days), so the days below are chosen to land inside each band.
+
 Examples:
-  nself license simulate-offline 0    # Just went offline
-  nself license simulate-offline 7    # Trigger warning banner
-  nself license simulate-offline 14   # Trigger hard stop
+  nself license simulate-offline 0    # Just went offline — silent
+  nself license simulate-offline 5    # Past 72h — warning, still writable
+  nself license simulate-offline 10   # Past 7 days — read-only
   nself license simulate-offline --clear  # Reset to current time`,
 	Args: cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {