diff --git a/crates/misaligned-core/src/plot.rs b/crates/misaligned-core/src/plot.rs
index b0a98ac1..3a65a9a1 100644
--- a/crates/misaligned-core/src/plot.rs
+++ b/crates/misaligned-core/src/plot.rs
@@ -851,10 +851,6 @@ mod tests {
         // Correspondence to the build-time discovered manifest — not a frozen
         // magic count.
         assert_eq!(catalog.plots().len(), BUILTINS.len());
-        assert!(
-            !BUILTINS.is_empty(),
-            "build-time discovery found no plot TOML under assets/plots/"
-        );
 
         let catalog_ids: BTreeSet<&str> = catalog.plots().iter().map(|p| p.id.as_str()).collect();
         let discovered_ids: BTreeSet<&str> = BUILTINS.iter().map(|(stem, _)| *stem).collect();
diff --git a/wiki/log/2026-07-12-ci-clippy-version.md b/wiki/log/2026-07-12-ci-clippy-version.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9df1be51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wiki/log/2026-07-12-ci-clippy-version.md
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# CI Clippy version compatibility
+
+```
+Type: log
+```
+
+## Intent
+
+Follow the repaired Tangled Rust wall through its first real execution and
+repair any failure proven by the hosted environment rather than inferred from
+local green checks.
+
+## Finding
+
+For source revision `735df436`, Tangled reported `corpus.yml`, `site.yml`, and
+`spec-check.yml` green. The native path filter correctly dispatched
+`check.yml`; its workspace test passed after the repaired `pkg-config` setup,
+then the hosted Clippy rejected `!BUILTINS.is_empty()` in the built-in plot
+catalog test under `clippy::const_is_empty`. The generated `BUILTINS` slice has
+a compile-time-known nonzero length, so the assertion is a tautology to the
+newer hosted toolchain. The local Clippy 1.96 did not yet report that lint.
+
+## Repair
+
+Remove only the redundant constant assertion. The same test already proves a
+stronger live invariant before it: the parsed catalog contains at least nine
+Act One definitions, and its length exactly equals the generated discovery
+table. Exact discovered ids are then compared and individually retrievable.
+No catalog, schema, or runtime behavior changes.
+
+**Defense:** [plots.md](../mechanics/plots.md) requires build-time discovery and
+an executable catalog gate. Keeping the live minimum, exact cardinality, exact
+id-set, and lookup checks preserves that defense while allowing the repository
+to remain warning-clean when hosted Clippy learns to evaluate the generated
+constant.
diff --git a/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md b/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
index b9e22738..5e9de2b8 100644
--- a/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
+++ b/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ add or amend a session log, then re-run the generator.
 - Intent: Audit every Tangled workflow as an executable system: trigger semantics, changed-file coverage, package availability, step ordering, and whether the advertised gates actually execute the behavior they claim to protect.
 - Log: [wiki/log/2026-07-12-ci-correctness-audit.md](2026-07-12-ci-correctness-audit.md)
 
+## 2026-07-12 - CI Clippy version compatibility
+
+- Intent: Follow the repaired Tangled Rust wall through its first real execution and repair any failure proven by the hosted environment rather than inferred from local green checks.
+- Log: [wiki/log/2026-07-12-ci-clippy-version.md](2026-07-12-ci-clippy-version.md)
+
 ## 2026-07-11 - Whole-frame visual composition pass
 
 - Intent: The machine chassis had become strong while the complete frame still read as one hero object beside a dense rail. This pass composes the whole material view: world-first disclosure, camera behavior that changes with scale, recognizable Foundation infrastructure, physical peopl...
diff --git a/wiki/mechanics/plots.md b/wiki/mechanics/plots.md
index 34bb9c5c..8838547b 100644
--- a/wiki/mechanics/plots.md
+++ b/wiki/mechanics/plots.md
@@ -167,7 +167,10 @@ agents and the community can contribute libraries of them.
   and Tangled's native Rust-wall push path filter (`assets/plots/**`) so
   catalog validation always runs, including nested additions, renames, and
   deletions across a multi-commit push. An invalid plot fails the repository
-  check gate with a named reason.
+  check gate with a named reason. The executable catalog defense asserts both
+  the Act One minimum and exact equality with the generated discovery table;
+  it must not duplicate those checks with a compile-time-known emptiness
+  assertion that newer Clippy versions correctly reject as tautological.
 - **Playout begins as a Thought reservoir.** Choosing a plot opens its declared
   Thought threshold on the real message-channel or egress carrier. When the
   reservoir fires, the executor performs beats in order. Message acts enter