diff --git a/.changes/bugs/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-f098795e.md b/.changes/bugs/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-f098795e.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..44fce690964
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/bugs/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-f098795e.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+bump: minor
+---
+
+### Added
+
+- read issue-body skeletons from the org issue-body contract
+
+  track add, decompose, the agent brief and bugs:write now take their
+  issue-body headings from the issue-body contract the standards sync
+  delivers into each plugin's reference/ directory, the same record the
+  org issue forms are generated from. triage checks an issue body against
+  the contract with scripts/check-body.mjs, which accepts a field under
+  a `##` or `###` heading and treats a form's skipped answer as empty. The tidy
+  deferred-item body follows the task type.
+
+- fan the synced issue-body contract into the plugins
+
+  The standards sync delivers the contract once, to
+  docs/contracts/issue-body/contract.json. sync-shared-copies.sh now
+  copies a JSON canonical byte for byte (JSON has no comment syntax for a
+  header) and generates plugins/bugs and plugins/work-items
+  reference/issue-body-contract.json from it; the cross-plugin registry
+  records the cluster.
diff --git a/.changes/code-tidying/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-f3b63720.md b/.changes/code-tidying/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-f3b63720.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..03ce6986da8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/code-tidying/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-f3b63720.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+bump: minor
+---
+
+### Added
+
+- read issue-body skeletons from the org issue-body contract
+
+  track add, decompose, the agent brief and bugs:write now take their
+  issue-body headings from the issue-body contract the standards sync
+  delivers into each plugin's reference/ directory, the same record the
+  org issue forms are generated from. triage checks an issue body against
+  the contract with scripts/check-body.mjs, which accepts a field under
+  a `##` or `###` heading and treats a form's skipped answer as empty. The tidy
+  deferred-item body follows the task type.
diff --git a/.changes/work-items/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-4c8a6d60.md b/.changes/work-items/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-4c8a6d60.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..44fce690964
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/work-items/feat-issue-body-contract-skills-4c8a6d60.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+bump: minor
+---
+
+### Added
+
+- read issue-body skeletons from the org issue-body contract
+
+  track add, decompose, the agent brief and bugs:write now take their
+  issue-body headings from the issue-body contract the standards sync
+  delivers into each plugin's reference/ directory, the same record the
+  org issue forms are generated from. triage checks an issue body against
+  the contract with scripts/check-body.mjs, which accepts a field under
+  a `##` or `###` heading and treats a form's skipped answer as empty. The tidy
+  deferred-item body follows the task type.
+
+- fan the synced issue-body contract into the plugins
+
+  The standards sync delivers the contract once, to
+  docs/contracts/issue-body/contract.json. sync-shared-copies.sh now
+  copies a JSON canonical byte for byte (JSON has no comment syntax for a
+  header) and generates plugins/bugs and plugins/work-items
+  reference/issue-body-contract.json from it; the cross-plugin registry
+  records the cluster.
diff --git a/plugins/bugs/reference/issue-body-contract.json b/plugins/bugs/reference/issue-body-contract.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..93a7c625dea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/bugs/reference/issue-body-contract.json
@@ -0,0 +1,235 @@
+{
+  "schemaVersion": 1,
+  "headingLevels": [2, 3],
+  "emptyAnswer": "_No response_",
+  "floorLabels": ["needs-triage"],
+  "types": {
+    "bug": {
+      "form": "bug-report.yml",
+      "name": "Bug Report",
+      "description": "Report an unexpected problem or behavior.",
+      "nativeType": "Bug",
+      "labels": ["needs-triage"],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "steps",
+          "heading": "Steps to reproduce",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "Minimal steps that reproduce the behavior.",
+          "placeholder": "1. ...\n2. ...\n3. ..."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "expected",
+          "heading": "Expected behavior",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What should happen?"
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "actual",
+          "heading": "Actual behavior",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What actually happens? Include error messages, stack traces, or screenshots."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "severity",
+          "heading": "Severity",
+          "kind": "dropdown",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "How bad is it? Say why under Severity justification.",
+          "options": ["low", "medium", "high", "critical"]
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "severity-justification",
+          "heading": "Severity justification",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "One sentence: the blast radius, what it blocks, or the data at risk."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "fix-location",
+          "heading": "Suggested fix location",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "The file and function or class where the fix likely belongs, if known. No patch."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "environment",
+          "heading": "Environment",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "OS, runtime and tool versions, and anything else relevant."
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "feature": {
+      "form": "feature-request.yml",
+      "name": "Feature Request",
+      "description": "Propose a new feature or enhancement.",
+      "nativeType": "Feature",
+      "labels": ["needs-triage"],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "user-story",
+          "heading": "User story",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "Who benefits and why?",
+          "placeholder": "As a [role], I want [capability] so that [benefit]."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "acceptance-criteria",
+          "heading": "Acceptance criteria",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "How do we know this is done? One verifiable check per line.",
+          "placeholder": "- [ ] Criterion 1\n- [ ] Criterion 2"
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "area",
+          "heading": "Affected area / component",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "Which part of the project would this affect?"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "task": {
+      "form": "task.yml",
+      "name": "Task",
+      "description": "A chore, maintenance task, audit, or other housekeeping item.",
+      "nativeType": "Task",
+      "labels": ["needs-triage"],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "context",
+          "heading": "Context",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What surfaced this, and what leaving it costs."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "proposed-work",
+          "heading": "Proposed work",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The concrete next actions.",
+          "placeholder": "- ..."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "acceptance-criteria",
+          "heading": "Acceptance criteria",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "One verifiable check per line.",
+          "placeholder": "- [ ] ..."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "references",
+          "heading": "References",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "Rules, files, pull requests, or docs this relates to."
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "agent-ready": {
+      "form": "agent-ready.yml",
+      "name": "Agent-Ready Work Item",
+      "description": "Work written as an agent brief. Triage decides its type and whether it is agent-ready.",
+      "nativeType": null,
+      "labels": ["needs-triage"],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "summary",
+          "heading": "Summary",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The change, in one line."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "root-cause",
+          "heading": "Root cause",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "Bugs only: unknown, or known: the cause in one line."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "current-behavior",
+          "heading": "Current behavior",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What the code does today."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "desired-behavior",
+          "heading": "Desired behavior",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What is true once this lands, edge cases and failure handling included. The end state, not edit instructions."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "key-interfaces",
+          "heading": "Key interfaces",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "The types, signatures, config keys, or observable behaviors that change, named by contract rather than file path or line."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "acceptance-criteria",
+          "heading": "Acceptance criteria",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "Checks that each give a yes or no.",
+          "placeholder": "- [ ] ..."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "out-of-scope",
+          "heading": "Out of scope",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The neighboring code and features this change leaves as they are."
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "decomposed-item": {
+      "form": null,
+      "name": "Decomposed work item",
+      "description": "A vertical slice /work-items:decompose publishes, born triaged; no public form.",
+      "nativeType": null,
+      "labels": [],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "outcome",
+          "heading": "Outcome",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The one observable change a user gets when this slice merges, end to end."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "key-interfaces",
+          "heading": "Key interfaces",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The design this slice touches, named by contract, or None."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "done-when",
+          "heading": "Done when",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The slice's acceptance criteria, each a check with a pass or fail answer."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "out-of-scope",
+          "heading": "Out of scope",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "Adjacent work this slice must not change."
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/plugins/bugs/skills/write/context/template.md b/plugins/bugs/skills/write/context/template.md
index 3fcb9b453d7..f7c48078d0d 100644
--- a/plugins/bugs/skills/write/context/template.md
+++ b/plugins/bugs/skills/write/context/template.md
@@ -1,36 +1,33 @@
 # `/bugs:write` template
 
-Loaded on demand by `/bugs:write`. Contains: the full Markdown template (5 fields), the `--file` frontmatter, and the "No bug confirmed" form.
+Loaded on demand by `/bugs:write`. Contains: the full Markdown template (5 fields, laid out by the issue-body contract), the `--file` frontmatter, and the "No bug confirmed" form.
 
 ## Full template
 
+The body sections come from the org issue-body contract, so a filed report matches the org bug form
+and passes the intake heading check. Read the `bug` type of
+[`reference/issue-body-contract.json`](../../../reference/issue-body-contract.json)
+and write one `## <heading>` section per entry of its `fields`, in that order, never a heading the
+contract does not name except `## Notes`. Fill each from the matching part of the five fields:
+
+- Steps to reproduce: a numbered list.
+- Expected and actual behavior: one section each.
+- Severity: one of the field's `options`, alone; Severity justification: the one sentence that
+  justifies it (blast radius, blocking factor, data-integrity impact).
+- Suggested fix location: `` `<file path>` `<function or class name>` ``, no patch.
+- A field the report cannot back, required or not, gets the placeholder.
+
 Default emission (stdout), no frontmatter:
 
 ```markdown
 # Bug: <title in present tense, one line>
 
-**Severity**: <low | medium | high | critical>
-**Suggested fix location**: `<file path>` `<function or class name>` (no patch)
 **Reported by**: <reporter identity, or session ID>
 **Reported at**: <ISO-8601 timestamp>
 
-## Steps to reproduce
-
-1. <step>
-2. <step>
-3. <step>
-
-## Expected behavior
-
-<what should happen>
-
-## Actual behavior
-
-<what does happen>
-
-## Severity justification
+## <each contract field heading, in contract order>
 
-<one sentence: why this severity. Cite blast radius / blocking factor / data-integrity impact>
+<its value>
 
 ## Notes
 
diff --git a/plugins/code-tidying/skills/tidy/reference/scope-budget.md b/plugins/code-tidying/skills/tidy/reference/scope-budget.md
index 74b08610356..ee7f5e18e60 100644
--- a/plugins/code-tidying/skills/tidy/reference/scope-budget.md
+++ b/plugins/code-tidying/skills/tidy/reference/scope-budget.md
@@ -39,27 +39,21 @@ Read the house style (`<plugin-root>/reference/issue-house-style.md`) before fil
 
 ### Body format (use as-is, fill in the angle-bracket placeholders)
 
+The sections follow the `task` type of the org issue-body contract, which `/work-items:track add`
+reads from its plugin's `reference/issue-body-contract.json`: Context, Proposed work and Acceptance
+criteria are its required fields, so the item passes intake's body check.
+
 ```markdown
 ## Context
 
 Deferred from tidy run on `<branch-name>` (anchor: `<anchor-sha>`). The hunt found this candidate but the PR scope budget's hard cap was reached before it could be included.
 
-## Tidying type
-
-<one of the named tidyings from reference/tidyings.md, e.g., "Beck #5: Reading Order">
-
-## Files
-
-- `<path/to/file1.ext>` (<estimated LOC delta>)
-- `<path/to/file2.ext>` (<estimated LOC delta>)
-
-## Estimated scope
-
-<estimate>: ~<N> LOC across <M> files. Should fit within the scope budget's target as a future tidy run.
-
-## Lane
+## Proposed work
 
-`<lane-name>`
+- Tidying: <one of the named tidyings from reference/tidyings.md, e.g., "Beck #5: Reading Order">
+- Files: `<path/to/file1.ext>` (<estimated LOC delta>), `<path/to/file2.ext>` (<estimated LOC delta>)
+- Estimated scope: ~<N> LOC across <M> files; should fit the scope budget's target as a future tidy run.
+- Lane: `<lane-name>`
 
 ## Acceptance criteria
 
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/reference/agent-brief.md b/plugins/work-items/reference/agent-brief.md
index bb5384933e9..05317d0956b 100644
--- a/plugins/work-items/reference/agent-brief.md
+++ b/plugins/work-items/reference/agent-brief.md
@@ -28,32 +28,20 @@ Each pair below comes from one of two changes, a retry backoff cap and a CSV exp
 
 ## Template
 
+The brief's fields are the `agent-ready` type of the issue-body contract
+([`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/issue-body-contract.json`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/issue-body-contract.json)),
+the record the org agent-ready issue form is generated from. Write one `### <heading>` per entry of
+its `fields`, in issue-body contract order, under the `## Agent Brief` heading; a form-filed item already
+carries them as `###` sections. The type is the issue's own (native Issue Type on org repos, `type:`
+label on personal / non-org repos), never a brief field. Each field's `description` says what it
+holds; the rules table above says how to write the four that go stale. Shape:
+
 ```markdown
 ## Agent Brief
 
-**Type:** Bug / Feature / Task (the issue's type: native Issue Type on org repos, `type:` label on personal / non-org repos)
-**Summary:** <the change, in one line>
-
-**Root cause:** <bugs only: `unknown`, or the cause in one line, e.g. `known: stale cache key in RetryPolicy`>
-
-**Current behavior:**
-<What the code does today. A bug: the faulty result. A feature: the existing behavior it extends.>
-
-**Desired behavior:**
-<What the code does once this lands, including how it handles edge cases and failures.>
-
-**Key interfaces:**
-- `TypeName`: <the change and the reason for it>
-- `FunctionName()` return type: <today's value vs the intended one>
-- Config shape: <settings added or changed>
-
-**Acceptance criteria:**
-- [ ] <a check with a yes-or-no result>
-- [ ] <a check with a yes-or-no result>
+### <each agent-ready field heading, in contract order>
 
-**Out of scope:**
-- <something this change must not touch>
-- <a nearby feature that stays as it is>
+<its value; `- [ ]` checks under Acceptance criteria, bullets under Key interfaces and Out of scope>
 ```
 
 ## When to use
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/reference/dogfood-filing.md b/plugins/work-items/reference/dogfood-filing.md
index 1fc0360c423..d8e42f23f2e 100644
--- a/plugins/work-items/reference/dogfood-filing.md
+++ b/plugins/work-items/reference/dogfood-filing.md
@@ -47,9 +47,9 @@ Four beats, in order. The two **mechanical** beats reuse existing machinery verb
    filer records what it observed, not a verified diagnosis.
 
 3. **File with the fixed shape (mechanical).** File through the canonical `track add` path, which
-   owns the body template (Context / Proposed work / Acceptance criteria / References / Metadata) and
-   the argv-safe `create-item` write ([`../skills/track/actions/add.md`](../skills/track/actions/add.md)
-   "Build body", "Create the item"). The shape is not restated here. `track add` is its source of
+   builds the body from the issue-body contract ([`issue-body-contract.json`](issue-body-contract.json))
+   and owns the argv-safe `create-item` write ([`../skills/track/actions/add.md`](../skills/track/actions/add.md)
+   "Build body", "Create the item"). The shape is not restated here: the contract is its source of
    truth, so a change to the template lands in one place. The item **title** follows the convention
    in [`issue-conventions.md`](issue-conventions.md).
 
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/reference/issue-body-contract.json b/plugins/work-items/reference/issue-body-contract.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..93a7c625dea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/work-items/reference/issue-body-contract.json
@@ -0,0 +1,235 @@
+{
+  "schemaVersion": 1,
+  "headingLevels": [2, 3],
+  "emptyAnswer": "_No response_",
+  "floorLabels": ["needs-triage"],
+  "types": {
+    "bug": {
+      "form": "bug-report.yml",
+      "name": "Bug Report",
+      "description": "Report an unexpected problem or behavior.",
+      "nativeType": "Bug",
+      "labels": ["needs-triage"],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "steps",
+          "heading": "Steps to reproduce",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "Minimal steps that reproduce the behavior.",
+          "placeholder": "1. ...\n2. ...\n3. ..."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "expected",
+          "heading": "Expected behavior",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What should happen?"
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "actual",
+          "heading": "Actual behavior",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What actually happens? Include error messages, stack traces, or screenshots."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "severity",
+          "heading": "Severity",
+          "kind": "dropdown",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "How bad is it? Say why under Severity justification.",
+          "options": ["low", "medium", "high", "critical"]
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "severity-justification",
+          "heading": "Severity justification",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "One sentence: the blast radius, what it blocks, or the data at risk."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "fix-location",
+          "heading": "Suggested fix location",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "The file and function or class where the fix likely belongs, if known. No patch."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "environment",
+          "heading": "Environment",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "OS, runtime and tool versions, and anything else relevant."
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "feature": {
+      "form": "feature-request.yml",
+      "name": "Feature Request",
+      "description": "Propose a new feature or enhancement.",
+      "nativeType": "Feature",
+      "labels": ["needs-triage"],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "user-story",
+          "heading": "User story",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "Who benefits and why?",
+          "placeholder": "As a [role], I want [capability] so that [benefit]."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "acceptance-criteria",
+          "heading": "Acceptance criteria",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "How do we know this is done? One verifiable check per line.",
+          "placeholder": "- [ ] Criterion 1\n- [ ] Criterion 2"
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "area",
+          "heading": "Affected area / component",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "Which part of the project would this affect?"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "task": {
+      "form": "task.yml",
+      "name": "Task",
+      "description": "A chore, maintenance task, audit, or other housekeeping item.",
+      "nativeType": "Task",
+      "labels": ["needs-triage"],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "context",
+          "heading": "Context",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What surfaced this, and what leaving it costs."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "proposed-work",
+          "heading": "Proposed work",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The concrete next actions.",
+          "placeholder": "- ..."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "acceptance-criteria",
+          "heading": "Acceptance criteria",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "One verifiable check per line.",
+          "placeholder": "- [ ] ..."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "references",
+          "heading": "References",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "Rules, files, pull requests, or docs this relates to."
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "agent-ready": {
+      "form": "agent-ready.yml",
+      "name": "Agent-Ready Work Item",
+      "description": "Work written as an agent brief. Triage decides its type and whether it is agent-ready.",
+      "nativeType": null,
+      "labels": ["needs-triage"],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "summary",
+          "heading": "Summary",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The change, in one line."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "root-cause",
+          "heading": "Root cause",
+          "kind": "input",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "Bugs only: unknown, or known: the cause in one line."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "current-behavior",
+          "heading": "Current behavior",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What the code does today."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "desired-behavior",
+          "heading": "Desired behavior",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "What is true once this lands, edge cases and failure handling included. The end state, not edit instructions."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "key-interfaces",
+          "heading": "Key interfaces",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": false,
+          "description": "The types, signatures, config keys, or observable behaviors that change, named by contract rather than file path or line."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "acceptance-criteria",
+          "heading": "Acceptance criteria",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "Checks that each give a yes or no.",
+          "placeholder": "- [ ] ..."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "out-of-scope",
+          "heading": "Out of scope",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The neighboring code and features this change leaves as they are."
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "decomposed-item": {
+      "form": null,
+      "name": "Decomposed work item",
+      "description": "A vertical slice /work-items:decompose publishes, born triaged; no public form.",
+      "nativeType": null,
+      "labels": [],
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "id": "outcome",
+          "heading": "Outcome",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The one observable change a user gets when this slice merges, end to end."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "key-interfaces",
+          "heading": "Key interfaces",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The design this slice touches, named by contract, or None."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "done-when",
+          "heading": "Done when",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "The slice's acceptance criteria, each a check with a pass or fail answer."
+        },
+        {
+          "id": "out-of-scope",
+          "heading": "Out of scope",
+          "kind": "textarea",
+          "required": true,
+          "description": "Adjacent work this slice must not change."
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/skills/decompose/SKILL.md b/plugins/work-items/skills/decompose/SKILL.md
index 692f2575a43..ae5b466e67f 100644
--- a/plugins/work-items/skills/decompose/SKILL.md
+++ b/plugins/work-items/skills/decompose/SKILL.md
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ Run each call as its own plain Bash command: no `$(...)`, no `git`, and no `&&`
 - **As of**: 2026-10-11
 - **Recheck trigger**: a Claude Code release in which the pre-#6929 snippet (tracker path fallback through `$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)`, body through `"$(cat "$BODY_FILE")"`) runs from a worktree-isolated session.
 
-Every item body uses the one structure below. It is the agent-brief template ([`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agent-brief.md`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agent-brief.md)) laid out as sections: `## Outcome` carries that template's Summary and Current/Desired behavior, `## Done when` carries its Acceptance criteria, and `## Key interfaces` and `## Out of scope` are its fields of the same names, so an AFK item needs no second `## Agent Brief` block. When the source is a PR (an item with attached code), use that reference's PR-variant (current-behavior-of-the-diff, finish-what-exists); do not replace the bug/feature template for ordinary items. Body structure:
+Every item body uses the one structure below. It is the agent-brief template ([`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agent-brief.md`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agent-brief.md)) laid out as sections: `## Outcome` carries that template's Summary and Current/Desired behavior, `## Done when` carries its Acceptance criteria, and `## Key interfaces` and `## Out of scope` are its fields of the same names, so an AFK item needs no second `## Agent Brief` block. When the source is a PR (an item with attached code), use that reference's PR-variant (current-behavior-of-the-diff, finish-what-exists); do not replace the bug/feature template for ordinary items. The required sections (Outcome, Key interfaces, Done when, Out of scope) are the `decomposed-item` type of the issue-body contract ([`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/issue-body-contract.json`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/issue-body-contract.json)): take their headings and order from its `fields`, and when the contract and the structure below disagree, the contract wins. Body structure:
 
 ```markdown
 ## Parent
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/skills/track/actions/add.md b/plugins/work-items/skills/track/actions/add.md
index 3f68a569751..86674d4c3ae 100644
--- a/plugins/work-items/skills/track/actions/add.md
+++ b/plugins/work-items/skills/track/actions/add.md
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Create a new work item with labels from the taxonomy.
 **Defaults applied by this action:**
 
 - **Priority.** When the `--priority` flag is absent, set no priority, on the `Priority` field or as a `priority:` label. Urgency is assigned at triage, not at filing. Apply the bare floor label `needs-triage` when that exact name exists in the live set ([`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/label-taxonomy.md`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/label-taxonomy.md)). Do not pass it as `--priority`, and do not substitute a low priority or a prefixed `needs-triage` spelling. Omit the floor when the live set has no `needs-triage` label.
-- **Body template.** When `--body` is not provided, fall back to the default skeleton: a `## Context` paragraph (what observation surfaced this item, what's the cost of leaving it), a `## Proposed work` bullet list (concrete next actions), `## Acceptance criteria` (one verifiable assertion per bullet), and `## References` (cross-references to rules, files, prior PRs, or external docs). The concrete body the workflow builds is detailed in step "Build body" below.
+- **Body template.** When `--body-file` is not provided, the body's sections come from the issue-body contract ([`reference/issue-body-contract.json`](../../../reference/issue-body-contract.json)), the record the org issue forms are generated from: the contract type matching the resolved issue type, or `agent-ready` with `--agent-ready`. The concrete body the workflow builds is detailed in step "Build body" below.
 - **Label taxonomy.** Labels are validated against the structure documented in [`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/label-taxonomy.md`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/label-taxonomy.md).
 - **Title shape.** The item title follows the convention in [`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/issue-conventions.md`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/issue-conventions.md).
 
@@ -52,25 +52,9 @@ Create a new work item with labels from the taxonomy.
 
 1. **Build labels list** `{labels}` (comma-separated for the seam) from the remaining flags. With no `--priority` and no `--agent-ready`, include no `priority:` label and include the bare `needs-triage` floor when the live set has it. A supplied `--priority`, or `--agent-ready`, does not leave the floor on: a known tier or a complete brief is already past intake. Also start from `category:general` and replace it with a supplied `--category`. Append `--area`/`--ecosystem` labels when provided. When `--agent-ready` is set, also append the autonomous-eligible role label (default `agent-ready`) so the item is eligible for autonomous pickup. A default that the consuming repo doesn't define is omitted rather than passed. With `--parent`, or a `--label` that is the binding's container label (`config.container_label`, default `work-map`), skip the `category:general` default and the `needs-triage` floor: a container or its child is not intake. Append each `--label` verbatim, after checking them as the flag says.
 
-1. **Build body.** With `--body-file`, the file is the body. With `--parent` or the container label and no `--body-file`, the description is the body. Otherwise, if `--agent-ready`, use the agent-brief template from [`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agent-brief.md`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agent-brief.md) (Type, Summary, Current behavior, Desired behavior, Key interfaces, Acceptance criteria, Out of scope). Otherwise use the default template:
+1. **Build body.** With `--body-file`, the file is the body. With `--parent` or the container label and no `--body-file`, the description is the body. Otherwise, if `--agent-ready`, use the agent-brief template from [`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agent-brief.md`](${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agent-brief.md), whose fields are the issue-body contract's `agent-ready` type. Otherwise take the contract type for the resolved issue type (`Bug` → `bug`, `Feature` → `feature`, `Task` → `task`) and write one `## <heading>` section per entry of its `fields`, in contract order, each filled from the description and `--context` as its `description` asks, with every required field filled (a field nothing backs reads `unknown`, never invented). Then append the sections below, which the contract does not hold:
 
 ```markdown
-## Context
-
-{what observation surfaced this item; the cost of leaving it, from the description and --context}
-
-## Proposed work
-
-- {concrete next action derived from the description}
-
-## Acceptance criteria
-
-- [ ] {one verifiable assertion per bullet}
-
-## References
-
-- {cross-references to rules, files, prior PRs, or external docs, or "none"}
-
 ## Metadata
 
 | Field | Value |
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/SKILL.md b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/SKILL.md
index 4f680b57a7e..24c83eec88b 100644
--- a/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/SKILL.md
+++ b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/SKILL.md
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ from layer `default`. A value other than `true` or `false` is named with its sou
 
 ### 1. Gather context
 
-Read the item body, comments, and any linked PRs, plus the diff when the item is a PR (adapter: "View item", bare read). Read earlier triage notes and do not ask again what they already answered. An earlier verification, needs-info or other triage comment counts as a triage result only when the tracker seam's write identity or a user with `write`, `maintain` or `admin` posted it (on GitHub, `author_association` `OWNER`, `MEMBER` or `COLLABORATOR`, then the collaborator-permission read decides, because the association alone does not show the permission ([Get repository permissions for a user](https://docs.github.com/en/rest/collaborators/collaborators#get-repository-permissions-for-a-user), as of 2026-11-10; recheck when that endpoint's role mapping changes); a failed read does not count). Any other author's comment, the reporter's included, is a claim to verify: a reporter posting "Reproduction: reproduced" in the needs-info shape settles nothing, and its reproduction counts toward neither the repro bar nor `status: confirmed`.
+Read the item body, comments, and any linked PRs, plus the diff when the item is a PR (adapter: "View item", bare read). Read earlier triage notes and do not ask again what they already answered. An earlier verification, needs-info or other triage comment counts as a triage result only when the tracker seam's write identity or a user with `write`, `maintain` or `admin` posted it (on GitHub, `author_association` `OWNER`, `MEMBER` or `COLLABORATOR`, then the collaborator-permission read decides, because the association alone does not show the permission ([Get repository permissions for a user](https://docs.github.com/en/rest/collaborators/collaborators#get-repository-permissions-for-a-user), as of 2026-11-10; recheck when that endpoint's role mapping changes); a failed read does not count). Any other author's comment, the reporter's included, is a claim to verify: a reporter posting "Reproduction: reproduced" in the needs-info shape settles nothing, and its reproduction counts toward neither the repro bar nor `status: confirmed`. For an issue, check the body against the issue-body contract per [context/body-check.md](context/body-check.md), running `node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.mjs"`.
 
 **Read the project's own record before evaluating.** Once the item text shows which area it
 touches, and before any check below, read three things the repository may keep, so the evaluation
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/context/body-check.md b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/context/body-check.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..df2ea555555
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/context/body-check.md
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# Body check against the issue-body contract
+
+Loaded by `/work-items:triage` step 1 for an issue (not a PR).
+
+1. Take the contract type for the issue's type: `Bug` → `bug`, `Feature` → `feature`, `Task` →
+   `task`; an item filed through the agent-ready form, or one being briefed for `agent-ready`, →
+   `agent-ready`. An item with no type yet gets the check after step 2 picks its type.
+2. Write the body to a temp file with the Write tool and run the script SKILL.md names with
+   `--type <type> --body-file <temp path>`. It reads the plugin's
+   [`reference/issue-body-contract.json`](../../../reference/issue-body-contract.json), the record
+   the org issue forms are generated from, accepts a field under any of the contract's
+   `headingLevels` (`##` from a skill, `###` from a form), and prints the required fields that are
+   `missing` or `empty`; a form's skipped-field answer counts as empty. Exit 0 means none.
+3. A gap is not a verdict on its own. Fill it from the item and its comments when they hold the
+   answer, and ask for what only the reporter knows in the needs-info comment, naming each field by
+   its contract heading. An item filed before the forms carried these headings is held to the same
+   fields, by content rather than heading.
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.mjs b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.mjs
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..1c99d55b3f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+// Checks an issue body against one type of the issue-body contract
+// (plugins/work-items/reference/issue-body-contract.json, synced from melodic-software/standards).
+// A field counts as present under a heading at any of the contract's `headingLevels` (`##` from a
+// skill, `###` from an issue form), with text other than the contract's `emptyAnswer` before the
+// next heading at that level or shallower, deeper sub-sections included. HTML comments and fenced
+// code do not count.
+//
+// Usage: check-body.mjs --type <type> --body-file <path> [--contract <path>]
+// Prints one JSON object: {type, missing: [heading...], empty: [heading...], unknownType}.
+// Exit 0 when every required field is present and answered, 1 when one is not, 2 on usage error.
+
+import { readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
+
+const DEFAULT_CONTRACT = path.join(
+  path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)),
+  "../../../reference/issue-body-contract.json",
+);
+
+const normalize = (text) => text.trim().replace(/\s+/g, " ").toLowerCase();
+
+// Lines outside fenced code, with HTML comments removed.
+function proseLines(body) {
+  const lines = body.replace(/<!--[\s\S]*?-->/g, "").split(/\r?\n/);
+  let fence = null;
+  return lines.map((line) => {
+    const marker = line.match(/^ {0,3}(`{3,}|~{3,})/);
+    if (fence) {
+      if (marker && marker[1][0] === fence[0] && marker[1].length >= fence.length) fence = null;
+      return "";
+    }
+    if (marker) {
+      fence = marker[1];
+      return "";
+    }
+    return line;
+  });
+}
+
+// Maps each normalized heading at an allowed level to the text under it, its sub-sections' text included.
+export function sections(body, levels) {
+  const found = new Map();
+  const open = [];
+  for (const line of proseLines(body)) {
+    const heading = line.match(/^ {0,3}(#{1,6})[ \t]+(.*?)[ \t#]*$/);
+    if (heading) {
+      const depth = heading[1].length;
+      while (open.length && open.at(-1).depth >= depth) open.pop();
+      if (levels.includes(depth)) {
+        const section = { depth, text: [] };
+        open.push(section);
+        const key = normalize(heading[2]);
+        if (!found.has(key)) found.set(key, section.text);
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+    for (const section of open) section.text.push(line);
+  }
+  return found;
+}
+
+export function checkBody(contract, typeKey, body) {
+  const type = contract.types[typeKey];
+  if (!type) return { type: typeKey, unknownType: true, missing: [], empty: [] };
+  const found = sections(body, contract.headingLevels);
+  const missing = [];
+  const empty = [];
+  for (const field of type.fields.filter((f) => f.required)) {
+    const text = found.get(normalize(field.heading));
+    if (text === undefined) missing.push(field.heading);
+    else {
+      const answer = text.join("\n").trim();
+      if (answer === "" || answer === contract.emptyAnswer) empty.push(field.heading);
+    }
+  }
+  return { type: typeKey, unknownType: false, missing, empty };
+}
+
+if (import.meta.url === pathToFileURL(process.argv[1] ?? "").href) {
+  const args = process.argv.slice(2);
+  const flag = (name) => {
+    const index = args.indexOf(name);
+    return index === -1 ? undefined : args[index + 1];
+  };
+  const typeKey = flag("--type");
+  const bodyFile = flag("--body-file");
+  if (!typeKey || !bodyFile) {
+    process.stderr.write("usage: check-body.mjs --type <type> --body-file <path> [--contract <path>]\n");
+    process.exit(2);
+  }
+  const contract = JSON.parse(await readFile(flag("--contract") ?? DEFAULT_CONTRACT, "utf8"));
+  const result = checkBody(contract, typeKey, await readFile(bodyFile, "utf8"));
+  process.stdout.write(`${JSON.stringify(result)}\n`);
+  process.exit(result.unknownType ? 2 : result.missing.length + result.empty.length > 0 ? 1 : 0);
+}
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.test.mjs b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c1efa68e9cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { describe, it } from "node:test";
+
+import { checkBody } from "./check-body.mjs";
+
+const contract = {
+  headingLevels: [2, 3],
+  emptyAnswer: "_No response_",
+  types: {
+    task: {
+      fields: [
+        { heading: "Context", required: true },
+        { heading: "Proposed work", required: true },
+        { heading: "References", required: false },
+      ],
+    },
+  },
+};
+
+describe("checkBody", () => {
+  it("accepts `##` headings a skill writes", () => {
+    const body = "## Context\n\nWhy.\n\n## Proposed work\n\n- do it\n";
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body), {
+      type: "task",
+      unknownType: false,
+      missing: [],
+      empty: [],
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("accepts `###` headings an issue form renders, matching heading case loosely", () => {
+    const body = "### context\n\nWhy.\n\n### Proposed  work\n\n- do it\n\n### References\n\n_No response_\n";
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body).missing, []);
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body).empty, []);
+  });
+
+  it("reports a missing required heading and ignores a missing optional one", () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", "## Context\n\nWhy.\n").missing, ["Proposed work"]);
+  });
+
+  it("reports a form's skipped field and an empty section as empty", () => {
+    const body = "### Context\n\n_No response_\n\n### Proposed work\n\n### References\n\nx\n";
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body).empty, ["Context", "Proposed work"]);
+  });
+
+  it("does not count a heading at a level the contract does not accept", () => {
+    const body = "# Context\n\nWhy.\n\n#### Proposed work\n\n- do it\n";
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body).missing, ["Context", "Proposed work"]);
+  });
+
+  it("does not count headings inside fenced code or HTML comments", () => {
+    const body = "```markdown\n## Context\n\nWhy.\n```\n\n<!--\n## Proposed work\nx\n-->\n";
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body).missing, ["Context", "Proposed work"]);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps a deeper sub-heading's text inside its section", () => {
+    const body = "## Context\n\n#### Detail\n\nWhy.\n\n## Proposed work\n\n- x\n";
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body).empty, []);
+  });
+
+  it("counts an allowed-level sub-heading's text toward its parent field", () => {
+    const body = "## Context\n\n### Background\n\nWhy.\n\n## Proposed work\n\n- x\n";
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body).empty, []);
+  });
+
+  it("closes a sub-section at the next parent-level heading", () => {
+    const body = "## Context\n\n### Background\n\nWhy.\n\n## Proposed work\n\n_No response_\n";
+    assert.deepEqual(checkBody(contract, "task", body).empty, ["Proposed work"]);
+  });
+
+  it("flags an unknown type", () => {
+    assert.equal(checkBody(contract, "epic", "").unknownType, true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.test.sh b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..2286c4bd3b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/work-items/skills/triage/scripts/check-body.test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Discovery wrapper for check-body.test.mjs: run-plugin-tests.sh discovers only *.test.sh,
+# so the cases live in the .mjs file and this only runs node and forwards its exit status.
+set -uo pipefail
+
+SELF_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+
+if ! command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "SKIP: node not installed" >&2
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+node --test "$SELF_DIR/check-body.test.mjs"
diff --git a/scripts/cross-plugin-source-registry.txt b/scripts/cross-plugin-source-registry.txt
index d6c1587eb09..28d19d26d46 100644
--- a/scripts/cross-plugin-source-registry.txt
+++ b/scripts/cross-plugin-source-registry.txt
@@ -712,3 +712,11 @@ evals/fixtures/scaffold-guard.sh
 # repository but the run's own temporary home with the same guard. Canonical copy:
 # plugins/bugs/evals/fixtures/repo-scaffold-guard.sh.
 evals/fixtures/repo-scaffold-guard.sh
+
+# Dedicated check: scripts/sync-shared-copies.sh --check. Canonical:
+# docs/contracts/issue-body/contract.json, synced from melodic-software/standards.
+reference/issue-body-contract.json
+
+# Dedicated check: scripts/sync-shared-copies.sh --check. Cluster line for the
+# duplication audit: the synced canonical contract and the copies.
+docs/contracts/issue-body/contract.json -> plugins/*/reference/issue-body-contract.json
diff --git a/scripts/shared-copies.txt b/scripts/shared-copies.txt
index b7d82bca796..9f0a209a69d 100644
--- a/scripts/shared-copies.txt
+++ b/scripts/shared-copies.txt
@@ -804,3 +804,5 @@ docs/contracts/plugin-reconfiguration/README.md plugins/user-interface/reference
 .github/scripts/lib/lane-binding.mjs plugins/work-items/lib/lane-binding.mjs
 .github/scripts/lib/lane-binding.fixtures.mjs plugins/review/lib/lane-binding.fixtures.mjs
 .github/scripts/lib/lane-binding.fixtures.mjs plugins/work-items/lib/lane-binding.fixtures.mjs
+docs/contracts/issue-body/contract.json plugins/bugs/reference/issue-body-contract.json
+docs/contracts/issue-body/contract.json plugins/work-items/reference/issue-body-contract.json
diff --git a/scripts/sync-shared-copies.sh b/scripts/sync-shared-copies.sh
index 85df92e6d05..f9bb15b5fe8 100755
--- a/scripts/sync-shared-copies.sh
+++ b/scripts/sync-shared-copies.sh
@@ -101,10 +101,16 @@ load_registry() {
 # JavaScript copy takes a two-line comment header after any shebang; a Markdown
 # copy takes the same header as an HTML comment after any frontmatter block; an
 # HTML copy takes it as an HTML comment after a leading doctype line, which a
-# browser needs first to stay out of quirks mode.
+# browser needs first to stay out of quirks mode. JSON has no comment syntax, so
+# a JSON copy is the canonical's bytes unchanged; shared-copies.txt and --check
+# are what mark it generated.
 render() {
   local src="$1" prefix first="" close=""
   case "$src" in
+  *.json)
+    cat "$src"
+    return 0
+    ;;
   *.mjs | *.cjs | *.js | *.ts) prefix='//' ;;
   *.sh | *.bash | *.py | *.ps1 | *.psm1 | *.awk) prefix='#' ;;
   *.html)
diff --git a/scripts/sync-shared-copies.test.sh b/scripts/sync-shared-copies.test.sh
index d7336087c99..bee2d8f6d2c 100755
--- a/scripts/sync-shared-copies.test.sh
+++ b/scripts/sync-shared-copies.test.sh
@@ -287,6 +287,22 @@ fi
 out="$(run --check)"
 expect "--check passes on generated Markdown copies" 0 $? "$out"
 
+# --- a JSON copy is the canonical's bytes, with no header -------------------------
+fixture
+printf '{\n  "a": 1\n}\n' >"$root/lib/data.json"
+printf 'lib/data.json plugins/alpha/ref/data.json\n' >"$root/scripts/shared-copies.txt"
+run >/dev/null
+if cmp -s "$root/lib/data.json" "$root/plugins/alpha/ref/data.json"; then
+  pass "a JSON copy is byte-identical to its canonical"
+else
+  bad "a JSON copy is byte-identical to its canonical" "got: $(cat "$root/plugins/alpha/ref/data.json")"
+fi
+out="$(run --check)"
+expect "--check passes on a generated JSON copy" 0 $? "$out"
+printf '{\n  "a": 2\n}\n' >"$root/plugins/alpha/ref/data.json"
+out="$(run --check)"
+expect "--check fails on an edited JSON copy" 1 $? "$out"
+
 # --- an HTML copy takes an HTML-comment header, after any doctype ---------------
 fixture
 printf '<!doctype html>\n<html lang="en">\n</html>\n' >"$root/lib/page.html"
@@ -342,7 +358,7 @@ reject "a copy registered twice is rejected" "registered twice" "lib/esc.mjs plu
 reject "a canonical registered as a copy is rejected" "both a canonical and a copy" \
   "plugins/alpha/lib/esc.mjs plugins/gamma/lib/esc.mjs" plugins/alpha/lib/esc.mjs
 reject "an extension with no known comment syntax is rejected" "no comment syntax known" \
-  "lib/data.json plugins/alpha/data.json" lib/data.json
+  "lib/data.toml plugins/alpha/data.toml" lib/data.toml
 
 fixture
 out="$(run --bogus)"
diff --git a/scripts/test_check_vocabulary.py b/scripts/test_check_vocabulary.py
index 29be6fa84f3..cfe3a45b580 100755
--- a/scripts/test_check_vocabulary.py
+++ b/scripts/test_check_vocabulary.py
@@ -717,6 +717,11 @@ def eval_rows(sense: str, line: str):
         r"\bname[- ]by[- ]contract\b",
         "The brief follows the name-by-contract rule.",
     ),
+    phrase(
+        "contract-brief",
+        r"\bissue-body contract\b",
+        "The brief's fields are the agent-ready type of the issue-body contract.",
+    ),
     phrase(
         "contract-brief",
         r"\bcontract case\b",
diff --git a/scripts/vocabulary-senses.json b/scripts/vocabulary-senses.json
index 48c8ae14681..31d956d15bf 100644
--- a/scripts/vocabulary-senses.json
+++ b/scripts/vocabulary-senses.json
@@ -196,6 +196,7 @@
         {"phrase": "\\binterface contracts?\\b", "reason": "an interface contract at design"},
         {"phrase": "\\b(pr|api|feed|payload|behavioral|presentation|execution|detection|return|framing|findings)[- ]contracts?\\b", "reason": "a named contract that is not the Brief: a PR, API, feed or payload contract, the agent brief's behavioral contract, plan's presentation contract, the interview's execution contract, the handoff detection contract, an agent's return contract, a spawn brief's framing contract or a review's findings contract"},
         {"phrase": "\\bname[- ]by[- ]contract\\b", "reason": "the agent brief's name-by-contract rule"},
+        {"phrase": "\\bissue-body contract\\b", "reason": "the org issue-body contract synced from melodic-software/standards, whose agent-ready type holds the Agent Brief fields"},
         {"phrase": "\\bcontract case\\b", "reason": "an eval's Contract case label names a behavior case, not the Brief"},
         {"path": "**/evals/**/samples/**", "reason": "recorded model output; an edit changes what the eval measures"},
         {"path": "**/evals/**/graders/**", "reason": "grader patterns matched against recorded samples; an edit changes what the eval measures"},