diff --git a/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/design.md b/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/design.md
index 4db0c40..e282789 100644
--- a/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/design.md
+++ b/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/design.md
@@ -122,3 +122,36 @@ pseudo-version continue to resolve until they move.
   rename breaks it without warning.
 - Should `gohai` be consumed by `osapi`, as its README describes? That is a
   design question, not a documentation one, and is out of scope here.
+
+## Correction: `replace` was specified as a single thing
+
+The requirement first stated that a `replace` directive may be used locally but
+never merged, and that no repository contained one. Applying it found thirteen,
+merged, across four repositories:
+
+| Repository           | Directives | Target                  |
+| -------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------- |
+| `nats-client`        | 5          | its own repository root |
+| `nats-server`        | 4          | its own repository root |
+| `osapi`              | 2          | its own repository root |
+| `osapi-orchestrator` | 2          | its own repository root |
+
+Every one belongs to a nested example module pointing at the repository that
+holds it. None crosses a repository boundary.
+
+The requirement had collapsed two unrelated uses of the same keyword. A
+`replace` reaching into a sibling repository stands in for a version that should
+be pinned, and leaks a developer's local layout into a merged tree. A `replace`
+reaching into its own repository root is how a nested module refers to the
+source beside it — remove it and the example silently compiles against whatever
+version the proxy last published, which is the failure the pattern exists to
+prevent.
+
+The corrected requirement distinguishes them by direction rather than by
+mechanism.
+
+*Alternative considered:* exempt example modules by path convention, keying the
+rule to a directory named `examples/`. Rejected — the property that matters is
+whether the directive crosses a repository boundary, and a rule written against
+a directory name would miss a nested tool module and would not survive anyone
+choosing a different name.
diff --git a/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/specs/module-dependencies/spec.md b/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/specs/module-dependencies/spec.md
index 543155c..b0aad60 100644
--- a/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/specs/module-dependencies/spec.md
+++ b/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/specs/module-dependencies/spec.md
@@ -23,14 +23,22 @@ A Go module SHALL declare a path matching the repository that holds it.
 
 ### Requirement: Dependencies are declared by version
 
-A repository SHALL depend on another by a released or pinned version in
-`go.mod`.
+A repository SHALL depend on another repository by a released or pinned version
+in `go.mod`.
 
-A `replace` directive MAY be used locally while developing against an unreleased
-change in a sibling repository. It SHALL NOT be merged.
+A `replace` directive pointing outside the repository that holds it MAY be used
+locally while developing against an unreleased change in a sibling repository.
+It SHALL NOT be merged.
 
-No repository contains one today, and the documentation that described `replace`
-as the linking mechanism was wrong.
+A `replace` directive pointing within the repository that holds it is a
+different thing and SHALL be merged. A nested module — an example or tool module
+under a repository that already declares its own — resolves its parent through
+`replace` so it compiles against the working tree rather than a published
+version. Without it the example cannot demonstrate the code it ships beside.
+
+The distinction is direction, not mechanism: a `replace` crossing a repository
+boundary substitutes for a version that should be pinned; one staying inside it
+is how a nested module refers to its own repository.
 
 #### Scenario: Consumer builds without the sibling checked out
 
@@ -38,6 +46,13 @@ as the linking mechanism was wrong.
   repositories
 - **THEN** the build resolves every dependency from the module proxy
 
+#### Scenario: An example module ships beside the code it demonstrates
+
+- **WHEN** a repository carries a nested example module
+- **THEN** that module declares a `replace` pointing at its own repository root,
+  and it is merged, because the example must build against the source it sits
+  next to
+
 #### Scenario: Developing against an unreleased sibling change
 
 - **WHEN** a developer adds a `replace` directive to test against a sibling
diff --git a/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/tasks.md b/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/tasks.md
index 9741f20..b303f90 100644
--- a/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/tasks.md
+++ b/openspec/changes/document-system-architecture/tasks.md
@@ -20,11 +20,13 @@ Sequenced: `osapi` renames and publishes before `osapi-orchestrator` moves.
 - [ ] 3.1 `gohai` — describe the consumer relationship it has, not the one
   intended
 - [ ] 3.2 Confirm no repository documents a `replace`-based linkage
-- [ ] 3.3 Confirm no `go.mod` contains a `replace` directive
+- [ ] 3.3 Confirm no `go.mod` contains a `replace` directive pointing outside
+  its own repository
 
 ## 4. Verification
 
 - [ ] 4.1 Confirm every module path matches its repository location
-- [ ] 4.2 Confirm no `replace` directive points outside its own module
+- [ ] 4.2 Confirm every `replace` directive points within the repository that
+  holds it
 - [ ] 4.3 Confirm every documented dependency appears in the corresponding
   `go.mod`