diff --git a/src/__tests__/arsenal-count-honesty.test.ts b/src/__tests__/arsenal-count-honesty.test.ts
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/src/__tests__/arsenal-count-honesty.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { TOOL_ADAPTERS, type ToolAdapter } from '../arsenal/catalog.js';
+import { BUILTIN_TOOLS, EXTERNAL_TOOLS } from '../arsenal/index.js';
+import {
+  isMintable,
+  adapterToCustomTool,
+  toolNameFor,
+  type AdapterToolDeps,
+} from '../arsenal/adapter-tools.js';
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// ARSENAL COUNT HONESTY — the "advertised = real, and nothing is silently dead".
+//
+// The arsenal advertises "83 tools". verify-claims defends that number by counting
+// `id:`/`name:` source lines — a SOURCE-LINE count, which would keep passing even if
+// an entry became uncallable. This test locks the number to the REAL registered arrays
+// and, more importantly, pins the invariant that makes the count honest:
+//
+//   an adapter is OFF the generic callable surface (adapterToCustomTool → null) IFF it
+//   is EXPLICITLY gated by its execution mode (catalog_only / import_only).
+//
+// i.e. a tool can be counted-but-not-generically-callable ONLY on purpose (metasploit /
+// hydra reachable solely via the approval-gated post-ex drivers; bloodhound import-only),
+// never by a silent DEFAULT/mint slip. Sibling of no-phantom-tools / stub-honesty.
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+const deps: AdapterToolDeps = {
+  isToolAvailable: async () => true,
+  runSubprocess: async () => ({ stdout: '', stderr: '', exitCode: 0 }),
+};
+
+const isGated = (a: ToolAdapter) =>
+  a.execution === 'catalog_only' || a.execution === 'import_only';
+
+describe('arsenal count honesty (advertised = real registered surface)', () => {
+  it('the advertised "83 tools" is the real registered surface, not a source-line count', () => {
+    const total = TOOL_ADAPTERS.length + BUILTIN_TOOLS.length + EXTERNAL_TOOLS.length;
+    // Locks the headline to code. If the arsenal grows/shrinks, update this AND the
+    // README / verify-claims headline together — that is the point of the lock.
+    expect(
+      total,
+      `arsenal size drifted from the advertised 83 (adapters=${TOOL_ADAPTERS.length}, ` +
+        `built-ins=${BUILTIN_TOOLS.length}, externals=${EXTERNAL_TOOLS.length}) — ` +
+        'update the README / verify-claims headline to match',
+    ).toBe(83);
+    expect(total).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(80); // stays consistent with verify-claims' `>= 80` gate
+  });
+
+  it('an adapter is off the generic callable surface IFF it is explicitly gated (no silent-dead entry)', () => {
+    const silentlyDead: string[] = []; // counted, not gated, yet mints null
+    const wronglyGated: string[] = []; // gated, yet somehow mints a callable tool
+    for (const a of TOOL_ADAPTERS) {
+      const callable = adapterToCustomTool(a, deps) !== null;
+      if (!callable && !isGated(a)) silentlyDead.push(`${a.id} (${a.execution})`);
+      if (callable && isGated(a)) wronglyGated.push(`${a.id} (${a.execution})`);
+      // isMintable must agree with actual callability — no divergence.
+      expect(isMintable(a), `isMintable disagrees with callability for ${a.id}`).toBe(callable);
+    }
+    expect(silentlyDead, `counted-but-silently-uncallable adapters: ${silentlyDead.join(', ')}`).toEqual([]);
+    expect(wronglyGated, `gated adapters that are still generically callable: ${wronglyGated.join(', ')}`).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('the gated set is exactly the documented post-ex / import tools (metasploit, hydra, bloodhound)', () => {
+    const gated = TOOL_ADAPTERS.filter(isGated);
+    // metasploit + hydra are catalog_only (callable only via the approval-gated hand-written
+    // post-ex drivers); bloodhound is import_only (collector output is imported, never run here).
+    expect(gated.map((a) => a.id).sort()).toEqual(['bloodhound', 'hydra', 'metasploit']);
+    expect(TOOL_ADAPTERS.find((a) => a.id === 'bloodhound')?.execution).toBe('import_only');
+    // Every gated adapter is genuinely off the generic surface.
+    for (const a of gated) {
+      expect(adapterToCustomTool(a, deps), `${a.id} must not be generically callable`).toBeNull();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('every generically-callable adapter mints a real, uniquely-named tool', () => {
+    const names = new Set<string>();
+    for (const t of [...BUILTIN_TOOLS, ...EXTERNAL_TOOLS]) names.add(t.name);
+    for (const a of TOOL_ADAPTERS) {
+      const tool = adapterToCustomTool(a, deps);
+      if (!tool) continue; // gated — covered above
+      expect(typeof tool.handler, `${a.id} minted without a handler`).toBe('function');
+      expect(tool.name, `${a.id} minted an unexpected name`).toBe(toolNameFor(a));
+      // A minted adapter that shadows a hand-written tool name is deduped by buildAdapterTools;
+      // record it here to prove no two DISTINCT registered surfaces collide unexpectedly.
+      names.add(tool.name);
+    }
+    // Built-ins + externals themselves carry no duplicate names.
+    const builtinNames = [...BUILTIN_TOOLS, ...EXTERNAL_TOOLS].map((t) => t.name);
+    expect(new Set(builtinNames).size).toBe(builtinNames.length);
+  });
+});