diff --git a/shared/test/tools/lexicon_check.gleam b/shared/test/tools/lexicon_check.gleam
index 5aa4f77..d2d986a 100644
--- a/shared/test/tools/lexicon_check.gleam
+++ b/shared/test/tools/lexicon_check.gleam
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import gleam/int
 import gleam/io
 import gleam/list
 import gleam/result
-import gleam/set.{type Set}
 import gleam/string
 import simplifile
 
@@ -78,6 +77,17 @@ fn in_scope(doc: LexiconDoc) -> Bool {
   string.starts_with(doc.id, dev_mokkenstorm_prefix)
 }
 
+// A batch compile (`atproto_sdl.parse_all`), not one `parse_in_tree` call
+// per file: `parse_in_tree`'s `known_docs` only disambiguates dotted
+// reference *syntax*, and its lowering pass builds an empty cross-file
+// registry regardless (see atproto_sdl/lower's own doc comment on
+// `lower_in_tree`), so a cross-file `@known` values-set reference (e.g.
+// getFeedSkeleton's `dev.mokkenstorm.crate.defs#OwnershipStatus`) can never
+// resolve through it even when the target document exists in the tree.
+// `parse_all` builds one real registry from the whole batch up front,
+// mirroring how `make gen`'s `atproto_sdl` CLI resolves the same kind of
+// cross-file reference (its own hand-rolled registry, not `parse_all`
+// itself, but the same shared-registry idea).
 fn load_tree(dir: String) -> Result(List(LexiconDoc), String) {
   use paths <- result.try(
     simplifile.get_files(dir)
@@ -89,21 +99,22 @@ fn load_tree(dir: String) -> Result(List(LexiconDoc), String) {
     paths
     |> list.filter(string.ends_with(_, ".sdl"))
     |> list.map(fn(path) { #(nsid_of(dir, path), path) })
-  let known_docs = sdl_paths |> list.map(fn(pair) { pair.0 }) |> set.from_list
-  list.try_map(sdl_paths, fn(pair) { parse_one(pair.0, pair.1, known_docs) })
-}
-
-fn parse_one(
-  nsid: String,
-  path: String,
-  known_docs: Set(String),
-) -> Result(LexiconDoc, String) {
-  use source <- result.try(
-    simplifile.read(path)
-    |> result.map_error(fn(e) { path <> ": read failed: " <> string.inspect(e) }),
+  use sources <- result.try(
+    list.try_map(sdl_paths, fn(pair) {
+      let #(nsid, path) = pair
+      simplifile.read(path)
+      |> result.map(fn(source) { #(nsid, source) })
+      |> result.map_error(fn(e) {
+        path <> ": read failed: " <> string.inspect(e)
+      })
+    }),
   )
-  atproto_sdl.parse_in_tree(source, nsid, known_docs)
-  |> result.map_error(fn(e) { path <> ": " <> error.describe(e) })
+  atproto_sdl.parse_all(sources, [])
+  |> list.zip(sdl_paths)
+  |> list.try_map(fn(pair) {
+    let #(#(_nsid, parsed), #(_nsid_again, path)) = pair
+    parsed |> result.map_error(fn(e) { path <> ": " <> error.describe(e) })
+  })
 }
 
 fn nsid_of(dir: String, path: String) -> String {