diff --git a/explore/migrate-260727-canonical-beacons.sql b/explore/migrate-260727-canonical-beacons.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..378d13d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/explore/migrate-260727-canonical-beacons.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+-- Migration: canonicalize known beacon aliases and rebuild beacon aggregates
+-- Run: wrangler d1 execute vit-explore --remote --file=explore/migrate-260727-canonical-beacons.sql
+
+UPDATE beacons
+SET last_activity = MAX(
+  last_activity,
+  (SELECT last_activity FROM beacons WHERE name = 'https://tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery')
+)
+WHERE name = 'vit:tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery'
+  AND EXISTS (
+    SELECT 1 FROM beacons WHERE name = 'https://tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery'
+  );
+
+UPDATE beacons
+SET last_activity = MAX(
+  last_activity,
+  (SELECT last_activity FROM beacons WHERE name = 'https://github.com/solpbc/thermals')
+)
+WHERE name = 'vit:github.com/solpbc/thermals'
+  AND EXISTS (
+    SELECT 1 FROM beacons WHERE name = 'https://github.com/solpbc/thermals'
+  );
+
+UPDATE beacons
+SET last_activity = MAX(
+  last_activity,
+  (SELECT last_activity FROM beacons WHERE name = 'https://github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift')
+)
+WHERE name = 'vit:github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift'
+  AND EXISTS (
+    SELECT 1 FROM beacons WHERE name = 'https://github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift'
+  );
+
+UPDATE caps
+SET beacon = CASE beacon
+  WHEN 'https://tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery' THEN 'vit:tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery'
+  WHEN 'https://github.com/solpbc/thermals' THEN 'vit:github.com/solpbc/thermals'
+  WHEN 'https://github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift' THEN 'vit:github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift'
+END
+WHERE beacon IN (
+  'https://tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery',
+  'https://github.com/solpbc/thermals',
+  'https://github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift'
+);
+
+UPDATE vouches
+SET beacon = CASE beacon
+  WHEN 'https://tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery' THEN 'vit:tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery'
+  WHEN 'https://github.com/solpbc/thermals' THEN 'vit:github.com/solpbc/thermals'
+  WHEN 'https://github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift' THEN 'vit:github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift'
+END
+WHERE beacon IN (
+  'https://tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery',
+  'https://github.com/solpbc/thermals',
+  'https://github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift'
+);
+
+UPDATE beacons
+SET cap_count = (
+      SELECT COUNT(*) FROM caps WHERE caps.beacon = beacons.name
+    ),
+    vouch_count = (
+      SELECT COUNT(*) FROM vouches WHERE vouches.beacon = beacons.name
+    )
+WHERE name IN (
+  'vit:tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery',
+  'vit:github.com/solpbc/thermals',
+  'vit:github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift'
+)
+  AND (
+    cap_count != (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM caps WHERE caps.beacon = beacons.name)
+    OR vouch_count != (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM vouches WHERE vouches.beacon = beacons.name)
+  );
+
+DELETE FROM beacons
+WHERE name IN (
+  'https://tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery',
+  'https://github.com/solpbc/thermals',
+  'https://github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift'
+);
diff --git a/test/explore-canonical-beacon-migration-260727.test.js b/test/explore-canonical-beacon-migration-260727.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce77112
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/explore-canonical-beacon-migration-260727.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+// Copyright (c) 2026 sol pbc
+
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { createSqliteEnv, splitSqlStatements } from './explore-d1.js';
+
+const MIGRATION_PATH = join(
+  import.meta.dir,
+  '..',
+  'explore',
+  'migrate-260727-canonical-beacons.sql',
+);
+const MIGRATION_SQL = readFileSync(MIGRATION_PATH, 'utf8');
+
+const PROJECTS = {
+  rookery: {
+    alias: 'https://tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery',
+    canonical: 'vit:tangled.org/solpbc.org/rookery',
+    aliasAggregate: [0, 0, '2026-07-26 06:44:23'],
+    canonicalAggregate: [6, 1, '2026-07-26 06:44:23'],
+  },
+  thermals: {
+    alias: 'https://github.com/solpbc/thermals',
+    canonical: 'vit:github.com/solpbc/thermals',
+    aliasAggregate: [2, 0, '2026-07-22 23:38:55'],
+    canonicalAggregate: [2, 0, '2026-07-23 16:37:48'],
+  },
+  vmlx: {
+    alias: 'https://github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift',
+    canonical: 'vit:github.com/osaurus-ai/vmlx-swift',
+    aliasAggregate: [1, 0, '2026-07-08 22:08:52'],
+    canonicalAggregate: [1, 1, '2026-07-25 09:39:21'],
+  },
+};
+
+function insertBeacon(db, name, capCount, vouchCount, lastActivity) {
+  db.query(
+    `INSERT INTO beacons (name, cap_count, vouch_count, last_activity)
+     VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)`,
+  ).run(name, capCount, vouchCount, lastActivity);
+}
+
+function insertCap(db, sequence, beacon) {
+  const recordJson = JSON.stringify({
+    $type: 'org.v-it.cap',
+    sequence,
+    beacon,
+    untouched: `cap-record-${sequence}`,
+  });
+  db.query(
+    `INSERT INTO caps (
+       did, rkey, uri, cid, title, description, ref, beacon, kind, record_json, created_at
+     ) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)`,
+  ).run(
+    `did:plc:migration-cap-${sequence}`,
+    `cap-${sequence}`,
+    `at://did:plc:migration-cap-${sequence}/org.v-it.cap/cap-${sequence}`,
+    `cid-cap-${sequence}`,
+    `Migration cap ${sequence}`,
+    `Migration description ${sequence}`,
+    `migration-cap-${sequence}`,
+    beacon,
+    'test',
+    recordJson,
+    `2026-07-${String((sequence % 27) + 1).padStart(2, '0')}T00:00:00.000Z`,
+  );
+}
+
+function insertVouch(db, sequence, beacon) {
+  const recordJson = JSON.stringify({
+    $type: 'org.v-it.vouch',
+    sequence,
+    beacon,
+    untouched: `vouch-record-${sequence}`,
+  });
+  db.query(
+    `INSERT INTO vouches (
+       did, rkey, uri, cid, cap_uri, ref, beacon, kind, record_json, created_at
+     ) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)`,
+  ).run(
+    `did:plc:migration-vouch-${sequence}`,
+    `vouch-${sequence}`,
+    `at://did:plc:migration-vouch-${sequence}/org.v-it.vouch/vouch-${sequence}`,
+    `cid-vouch-${sequence}`,
+    'at://did:plc:migration-cap-1/org.v-it.cap/cap-1',
+    `migration-vouch-${sequence}`,
+    beacon,
+    'endorse',
+    recordJson,
+    `2026-07-${String(sequence + 1).padStart(2, '0')}T01:00:00.000Z`,
+  );
+}
+
+function seedProductionShape(db) {
+  const seed = db.transaction(() => {
+    for (const project of Object.values(PROJECTS)) {
+      insertBeacon(db, project.alias, ...project.aliasAggregate);
+      insertBeacon(db, project.canonical, ...project.canonicalAggregate);
+    }
+
+    for (let index = 0; index < 16; index += 1) {
+      insertBeacon(
+        db,
+        `vit:unrelated-${index}.example/owner/repo`,
+        index === 0 ? 51 : 100 + index,
+        200 + index,
+        `2026-06-${String(index + 1).padStart(2, '0')} 00:00:00`,
+      );
+    }
+
+    let sequence = 1;
+    for (let index = 0; index < 6; index += 1) {
+      insertCap(db, sequence++, PROJECTS.rookery.canonical);
+    }
+    for (let index = 0; index < 2; index += 1) {
+      insertCap(db, sequence++, PROJECTS.thermals.alias);
+    }
+    for (let index = 0; index < 2; index += 1) {
+      insertCap(db, sequence++, PROJECTS.thermals.canonical);
+    }
+    insertCap(db, sequence++, PROJECTS.vmlx.alias);
+    insertCap(db, sequence++, PROJECTS.vmlx.canonical);
+    while (sequence <= 63) {
+      insertCap(db, sequence++, 'vit:unrelated-0.example/owner/repo');
+    }
+
+    insertVouch(db, 1, PROJECTS.rookery.canonical);
+    insertVouch(db, 2, PROJECTS.vmlx.canonical);
+
+    // Deliberate canonical aggregate drift proves the migration recounts facts.
+    db.query(
+      'UPDATE beacons SET cap_count = 777, vouch_count = 9 WHERE name = ?',
+    ).run(PROJECTS.thermals.canonical);
+  });
+  seed();
+}
+
+function snapshot(db) {
+  return {
+    caps: db.query('SELECT * FROM caps ORDER BY id').all(),
+    vouches: db.query('SELECT * FROM vouches ORDER BY id').all(),
+    beacons: db.query('SELECT * FROM beacons ORDER BY id').all(),
+  };
+}
+
+function migrationStatements(env) {
+  return splitSqlStatements(MIGRATION_SQL).map((sql) => env.DB.prepare(sql));
+}
+
+describe('canonical beacon migration', () => {
+  test('uses seven simple atomic-import statements with the required command header', () => {
+    expect(MIGRATION_SQL).toContain(
+      '-- Run: wrangler d1 execute vit-explore --remote --file=explore/migrate-260727-canonical-beacons.sql',
+    );
+    expect(splitSqlStatements(MIGRATION_SQL)).toHaveLength(7);
+    expect(MIGRATION_SQL).not.toMatch(/\bBEGIN\b/i);
+    expect(MIGRATION_SQL).not.toMatch(/\bCOMMIT\b/i);
+    expect(MIGRATION_SQL).not.toContain("datetime('now')");
+  });
+
+  test('merges only the three aliases, recounts facts, and is byte-identical on rerun', () => {
+    const { db, env } = createSqliteEnv();
+    try {
+      seedProductionShape(db);
+      expect(db.query('SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM beacons').get().count).toBe(22);
+      expect(db.query('SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM caps').get().count).toBe(63);
+
+      const beforeCaps = db.query('SELECT id, record_json FROM caps ORDER BY id').all();
+      const beforeVouches = db.query('SELECT id, record_json FROM vouches ORDER BY id').all();
+      const beforeUnrelated = db.query(
+        "SELECT * FROM beacons WHERE name LIKE 'vit:unrelated-%' ORDER BY id",
+      ).all();
+
+      env.DB.batch(migrationStatements(env));
+
+      expect(db.query('SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM beacons').get().count).toBe(19);
+      expect(db.query('SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM caps').get().count).toBe(63);
+      expect(db.query('SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM vouches').get().count).toBe(2);
+      expect(db.query('SELECT id, record_json FROM caps ORDER BY id').all()).toEqual(beforeCaps);
+      expect(db.query('SELECT id, record_json FROM vouches ORDER BY id').all()).toEqual(beforeVouches);
+      expect(
+        db.query("SELECT * FROM beacons WHERE name LIKE 'vit:unrelated-%' ORDER BY id").all(),
+      ).toEqual(beforeUnrelated);
+
+      expect(db.query(
+        `SELECT name, cap_count, vouch_count, last_activity
+         FROM beacons
+         WHERE name IN (?, ?, ?)
+         ORDER BY name`,
+      ).all(
+        PROJECTS.rookery.canonical,
+        PROJECTS.thermals.canonical,
+        PROJECTS.vmlx.canonical,
+      )).toEqual([
+        {
+          name: PROJECTS.vmlx.canonical,
+          cap_count: 2,
+          vouch_count: 1,
+          last_activity: '2026-07-25 09:39:21',
+        },
+        {
+          name: PROJECTS.thermals.canonical,
+          cap_count: 4,
+          vouch_count: 0,
+          last_activity: '2026-07-23 16:37:48',
+        },
+        {
+          name: PROJECTS.rookery.canonical,
+          cap_count: 6,
+          vouch_count: 1,
+          last_activity: '2026-07-26 06:44:23',
+        },
+      ]);
+      expect(db.query(
+        `SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM beacons
+         WHERE name IN (?, ?, ?)`,
+      ).get(
+        PROJECTS.rookery.alias,
+        PROJECTS.thermals.alias,
+        PROJECTS.vmlx.alias,
+      ).count).toBe(0);
+      expect(db.query(
+        `SELECT
+           (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM caps WHERE beacon = ?) AS rookery_caps,
+           (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM caps WHERE beacon = ?) AS thermals_caps,
+           (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM caps WHERE beacon = ?) AS vmlx_caps,
+           (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM caps WHERE beacon IN (?, ?, ?)) AS alias_caps`,
+      ).get(
+        PROJECTS.rookery.canonical,
+        PROJECTS.thermals.canonical,
+        PROJECTS.vmlx.canonical,
+        PROJECTS.rookery.alias,
+        PROJECTS.thermals.alias,
+        PROJECTS.vmlx.alias,
+      )).toEqual({
+        rookery_caps: 6,
+        thermals_caps: 4,
+        vmlx_caps: 2,
+        alias_caps: 0,
+      });
+
+      const once = snapshot(db);
+      env.DB.batch(migrationStatements(env));
+      expect(snapshot(db)).toEqual(once);
+    } finally {
+      db.close();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('rolls back fact updates when an intermediate statement fails', () => {
+    const { db, env } = createSqliteEnv();
+    try {
+      seedProductionShape(db);
+      const before = snapshot(db);
+      const statements = splitSqlStatements(MIGRATION_SQL);
+      statements.splice(5, 0, 'UPDATE nonexistent_beacon_table SET value = 1');
+      const prepared = statements.map((sql) => env.DB.prepare(sql));
+
+      expect(() => env.DB.batch(prepared)).toThrow(/nonexistent_beacon_table|no such table/i);
+      expect(snapshot(db)).toEqual(before);
+    } finally {
+      db.close();
+    }
+  });
+});