diff --git a/docs/superpowers/evidence/book-guard-bar-block-2026-10-02.json b/docs/superpowers/evidence/book-guard-bar-block-2026-10-02.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f141e4d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/superpowers/evidence/book-guard-bar-block-2026-10-02.json
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+{
+  "intent": "Make book-guard openable from the i3 bar the same way screen-locker is: a [book_guard] block shows this month's paper-book pace, and a click opens the book-guard desktop window. Move the shared pins to gatelock 0.9.0 (the new shared morning-session reader) and today's newest stable releases.",
+  "scope": [
+    "linux_configuration/i3blocks/book_guard.sh - new block script",
+    "linux_configuration/i3blocks/config - [book_guard] entry next to [screen_locker]",
+    "linux_configuration/tests/test_i3blocks_book_guard.sh - behaviour test",
+    "meta/requirements.txt - gatelock 0.9.0 and newest-stable pins",
+    "Non-goal: the stale tracked linux_configuration/i3/config (it already lacks the workout-locker and leetcode-guard exec lines); the live ~/.config/i3/config got the book-guard exec line."
+  ],
+  "changes": [
+    "book_guard.sh reads the state.json book-guard publishes into ~/data/cloud/Reading on every inbox pass and gate run (no server, one jq pass): green on pace, yellow behind but unlocked (escaped / free day / unlocked tag), red when locked, orange when missing or older than 45 min, red with DISARMED when book-guard.timer is inactive. A click runs book-guard-desktop via setsid, which opens another window if it is already serving.",
+    "meta/requirements.txt: gatelock 0.8.2 -> 0.9.0; anthropic 1.11.0, cryptography 50.0.2, flake8-bugbear 26.9.30, geopandas 1.2.0, howlongtobeatpy 1.0.24, pyflakes 4.0.1, selenium 4.50.0, mypy 2.4.0, pylint 4.1.1, ruff 0.16.10."
+  ],
+  "verification": [
+    {
+      "command": "bash linux_configuration/tests/test_i3blocks_book_guard.sh",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "on pace / locked / escaped / free day / other / stale / disarmed / missing / broken / click all asserted; systemctl and the launcher stubbed on PATH."
+    },
+    {
+      "command": "bash linux_configuration/tests/test_i3blocks_efficiency.sh",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "All i3blocks efficiency regression tests passed."
+    },
+    {
+      "command": "~/.config/i3blocks/book_guard.sh (live state.json)",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "'📖 0/300 · 10p behind (escaped)' #F1FA8C; block live in the bar after i3-msg reload."
+    },
+    {
+      "command": ".venv/bin/python -m pytest python_pkg/code_tutor (the only anthropic/geopandas/selenium/cryptography importer)",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "217 passed on anthropic 1.11.0."
+    },
+    {
+      "command": "pre-commit run --files <changed-files>",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "all hooks passed, including dependency-freshness."
+    }
+  ],
+  "risks": [
+    "cryptography 50.0.2 stays outside pyopenssl/mitmproxy's declared ranges, as 50.0.1 already was.",
+    "A click with book-guard-desktop missing does nothing (errors are silenced so the bar never breaks)."
+  ],
+  "rollback": [
+    "git revert this commit and remove ~/.config/i3blocks/book_guard.sh; i3-msg reload.",
+    "Confirm the bar still renders [screen_locker] and the other blocks."
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/docs/superpowers/evidence/python-tests-path-filter-symlink-2026-08-23.json b/docs/superpowers/evidence/python-tests-path-filter-symlink-2026-08-23.json
deleted file mode 100644
index f2efc3f6..00000000
--- a/docs/superpowers/evidence/python-tests-path-filter-symlink-2026-08-23.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "intent": "Make the Python tests workflow actually trigger when the dependency list changes, so a requirements fix cannot silently skip the workflow it is meant to repair.",
-  "scope": [
-    ".github/workflows/python-tests.yml (push and pull_request path filters)",
-    "Non-goal: changing the symlink layout, which the repo documents deliberately"
-  ],
-  "changes": [
-    "Added meta/requirements.txt alongside requirements.txt in both path filters. The root file is a symlink into meta/, and GitHub matches filters against the path as git records it, so editing the real file did not match the symlink's name."
-  ],
-  "verification": [
-    {
-      "command": "Observed on commit 32de2215, which changed meta/requirements.txt",
-      "result": "fail",
-      "evidence": "Dependency Graph, Shell tests and Pre-commit checks all ran; Python tests did NOT trigger at all, leaving the last Python tests result on the older red commit 5ba2cbd4"
-    },
-    {
-      "command": "python3 -c \"import yaml; yaml.safe_load(open('.github/workflows/python-tests.yml'))\"",
-      "result": "pass",
-      "evidence": "YAML valid; both the push and pull_request filter lists were patched (2 occurrences)"
-    },
-    {
-      "command": "gh workflow run 'Python tests' --ref main",
-      "result": "pass",
-      "evidence": "Dispatched run 32645075080 to confirm the dependency fix itself, since the filter bug prevented an automatic run"
-    }
-  ],
-  "risks": [
-    "The other root symlinks (pyproject.toml, run.sh, lint_python.sh, .fvmrc) are not referenced by any workflow path filter today, so they carry the same latent trap if one is ever added."
-  ],
-  "rollback": [
-    "Remove the meta/requirements.txt lines from both filters.",
-    "After rollback, a change to meta/requirements.txt will once again skip this workflow."
-  ]
-}
diff --git a/linux_configuration/i3blocks/book_guard.sh b/linux_configuration/i3blocks/book_guard.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..b276746f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/linux_configuration/i3blocks/book_guard.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# ============================================================================
+# book-guard status for i3blocks: this month's paper-book pace.
+#
+# Sibling of screen_locker.sh, and opened the same way: a click opens the
+# book-guard desktop window (book-guard-desktop serves the web app on :8773
+# and, if it is already running, just opens another window onto it).
+#
+# Reads the state.json book-guard publishes into the Reading folder on every
+# inbox pass (every 15 min) and every gate run -- no server needed. Like the
+# screen-locker block it is never blank and never silently green: a missing
+# or stale snapshot, or a disarmed timer, is shown as such.
+# ============================================================================
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+readonly STATE="${BOOK_GUARD_STATE:-$HOME/data/cloud/Reading/state.json}"
+readonly LAUNCHER="${BOOK_GUARD_DESKTOP:-$HOME/.local/bin/book-guard-desktop}"
+# Three missed inbox passes: past this the numbers describe a different hour.
+readonly STALE_SECONDS=2700
+
+# Dracula-ish palette, matching the other blocks in this bar.
+readonly RED='#FF5555'
+readonly YELLOW='#F1FA8C'
+readonly GREEN='#50FA7B'
+readonly ORANGE='#FFB86C'
+
+emit() {
+	# full_text, short_text, color — the three lines i3blocks reads.
+	printf '%s\n%s\n%s\n' "$1" "$2" "$3"
+}
+
+# A click only opens the window; nothing here can clear a lock.
+if [[ ${BLOCK_BUTTON:-0} -ne 0 ]]; then
+	setsid -f "$LAUNCHER" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+fi
+
+if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	emit '📖 no jq' '📖 ?' "$ORANGE"
+	exit 0
+fi
+
+if [[ ! -r $STATE ]] || ! jq -e '.pace' "$STATE" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	emit '📖 no status' '📖 ?' "$ORANGE"
+	exit 0
+fi
+
+# One jq pass, tab-separated: locked, pages, target, behind, reason.
+IFS=$'\t' read -r locked pages target behind reason < <(
+	jq -r '[.locked, .pace.pages, .pace.target, .pace.behind, .reason] | @tsv' "$STATE"
+)
+
+text="📖 ${pages}/${target}"
+short="📖 ${pages}"
+if [[ $locked == 'true' ]]; then
+	text="$text · LOCKED, ${behind}p behind"
+	color=$RED
+elif ((behind > 0)); then
+	# Behind but unlocked: the bar has room for a tag, not the full reason.
+	case $reason in
+	*escape*) why='escaped' ;;
+	*free\ day*) why='free day' ;;
+	*) why='unlocked' ;;
+	esac
+	text="$text · ${behind}p behind (${why})"
+	color=$YELLOW
+else
+	text="$text ✓"
+	color=$GREEN
+fi
+
+printf -v now '%(%s)T' -1
+age=$((now - $(stat -c %Y "$STATE")))
+if ((age > STALE_SECONDS)); then
+	text="$text (stale $((age / 60))m)"
+	color=$ORANGE
+fi
+
+# Arming beats pace, as in the screen-locker block: a gate that cannot fire
+# is the worse problem, and it is the one that hides.
+if ! systemctl --user is-active --quiet book-guard.timer; then
+	text="$text ⚠ DISARMED"
+	color=$RED
+fi
+
+emit "$text" "$short" "$color"
diff --git a/linux_configuration/i3blocks/config b/linux_configuration/i3blocks/config
index 5c8c5fb5..2cfc71c3 100644
--- a/linux_configuration/i3blocks/config
+++ b/linux_configuration/i3blocks/config
@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@ interval=30
 command=~/.config/i3blocks/screen_locker.sh
 interval=30
 
+[book_guard]
+command=~/.config/i3blocks/book_guard.sh
+interval=30
+
 [shutdown_countdown]
 command=~/.config/i3blocks/shutdown_countdown.sh
 interval=60
diff --git a/linux_configuration/tests/test_i3blocks_book_guard.sh b/linux_configuration/tests/test_i3blocks_book_guard.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..cb5ef1e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/linux_configuration/tests/test_i3blocks_book_guard.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Behaviour tests for the i3blocks book_guard block: pace text, colours, every
+# failure state and the click. systemctl and the desktop launcher are stubbed,
+# and the state file is a fixture, so nothing reads the real Reading folder.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR=$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)
+REPO_DIR=$(cd -- "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)
+BLOCK="$REPO_DIR/i3blocks/book_guard.sh"
+TMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+
+cleanup() {
+	rm -rf "$TMP_DIR"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+fail() {
+	printf 'FAIL: %s\n' "$1" >&2
+	exit 1
+}
+
+assert_eq() {
+	local expected=$1
+	local actual=$2
+	local context=$3
+	if [[ "$expected" != "$actual" ]]; then
+		fail "$context (expected '$expected', actual '$actual')"
+	fi
+}
+
+printf '{}' | jq -e . >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
+	fail 'a working jq is required for the book_guard tests (pacman -S jq)'
+
+# Stub systemctl: the timer is active unless TIMER_DOWN is set.
+BIN_DIR="$TMP_DIR/bin"
+mkdir -p "$BIN_DIR"
+cat >"$BIN_DIR/systemctl" <<'STUB'
+#!/bin/bash
+[[ -z ${TIMER_DOWN:-} ]]
+STUB
+cat >"$BIN_DIR/launcher" <<STUB
+#!/bin/bash
+echo clicked >>"$TMP_DIR/clicks"
+STUB
+chmod +x "$BIN_DIR/systemctl" "$BIN_DIR/launcher"
+
+STATE="$TMP_DIR/state.json"
+
+# state <locked> <pages> <behind> <reason>
+state() {
+	jq -n --argjson locked "$1" --argjson pages "$2" --argjson behind "$3" \
+		--arg reason "$4" \
+		'{locked: $locked, reason: $reason,
+		  pace: {target: 300, pages: $pages, behind: $behind}}' >"$STATE"
+}
+
+run_block() {
+	PATH="$BIN_DIR:$PATH" BOOK_GUARD_STATE="$STATE" \
+		BOOK_GUARD_DESKTOP="$BIN_DIR/launcher" bash "$BLOCK"
+}
+
+line() {
+	sed -n "${1}p" <<<"$2"
+}
+
+printf 'Checking book_guard block states...\n'
+
+state false 120 0 'on pace'
+out=$(run_block)
+assert_eq '📖 120/300 ✓' "$(line 1 "$out")" 'on pace text'
+assert_eq '📖 120' "$(line 2 "$out")" 'short text'
+assert_eq '#50FA7B' "$(line 3 "$out")" 'on pace is green'
+
+state true 40 12 'behind the pace line'
+out=$(run_block)
+assert_eq '📖 40/300 · LOCKED, 12p behind' "$(line 1 "$out")" 'locked text'
+assert_eq '#FF5555' "$(line 3 "$out")" 'locked is red'
+
+state false 0 10 "today's lock was skipped with the escape hatch"
+assert_eq '📖 0/300 · 10p behind (escaped)' "$(line 1 "$(run_block)")" 'escaped tag'
+state false 0 10 'today is a free day'
+assert_eq '📖 0/300 · 10p behind (free day)' "$(line 1 "$(run_block)")" 'free-day tag'
+state false 0 10 'before the start date'
+out=$(run_block)
+assert_eq '📖 0/300 · 10p behind (unlocked)' "$(line 1 "$out")" 'other tag'
+assert_eq '#F1FA8C' "$(line 3 "$out")" 'behind but unlocked is yellow'
+
+printf 'Checking failure states are never blank or green...\n'
+
+state false 120 0 'on pace'
+touch -d '-2 hours' "$STATE"
+out=$(run_block)
+assert_eq '📖 120/300 ✓ (stale 120m)' "$(line 1 "$out")" 'stale text'
+assert_eq '#FFB86C' "$(line 3 "$out")" 'stale is orange'
+
+state false 120 0 'on pace'
+out=$(TIMER_DOWN=1 run_block)
+assert_eq '📖 120/300 ✓ ⚠ DISARMED' "$(line 1 "$out")" 'disarmed text'
+assert_eq '#FF5555' "$(line 3 "$out")" 'disarmed is red'
+
+rm "$STATE"
+out=$(run_block)
+assert_eq '📖 no status' "$(line 1 "$out")" 'missing state'
+assert_eq '#FFB86C' "$(line 3 "$out")" 'missing is orange'
+printf '{' >"$STATE"
+assert_eq '📖 no status' "$(line 1 "$(run_block)")" 'broken state'
+
+printf 'Checking a click opens the desktop window...\n'
+
+state false 120 0 'on pace'
+BLOCK_BUTTON=1 run_block >/dev/null
+for _ in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10; do
+	[[ -s "$TMP_DIR/clicks" ]] && break
+	sleep 0.1
+done
+assert_eq 'clicked' "$(cat "$TMP_DIR/clicks" 2>/dev/null)" 'click runs the launcher'
+
+printf 'book_guard block: all checks passed\n'
diff --git a/meta/requirements.txt b/meta/requirements.txt
index 27538359..952758dc 100644
--- a/meta/requirements.txt
+++ b/meta/requirements.txt
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 add-trailing-comma==4.0.0
 aiohttp==3.14.3
-anthropic==1.8.0
+anthropic==1.11.0
 autoflake==2.4.0
 autopep8==2.3.2
 bandit==1.9.4
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ black==26.5.1
 bottle==0.13.4
 codespell==2.4.3
 coverage==7.16.2
-cryptography==50.0.1
+cryptography==50.0.2
 darglint==1.8.1
 dead==2.1.0
 defusedxml==0.7.1
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ fixit==2.2.1
 flake8==7.4.1
 flake8-annotations==3.2.0
 flake8-bandit==4.1.1
-flake8-bugbear==26.9.9
+flake8-bugbear==26.9.30
 flake8-comprehensions==3.17.0
 flake8-docstrings==1.7.0
 flake8-eradicate==1.5.0
@@ -35,10 +35,10 @@ flake8-pyi==26.5.0
 flake8-pytest-style==2.2.0
 flake8-return==1.2.0
 flake8-simplify==0.30.0
-gatelock @ git+https://github.com/kuhyx/utils@gatelock-v0.8.2#subdirectory=gatelock
+gatelock @ git+https://github.com/kuhyx/utils@gatelock-v0.9.0#subdirectory=gatelock
 genanki==0.13.1
-geopandas==1.1.4
-howlongtobeatpy==1.0.23
+geopandas==1.2.0
+howlongtobeatpy==1.0.24
 hypothesis==6.168.3
 importlib-metadata==9.0.1
 interrogate==1.7.0
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ lxml==6.1.3
 markdownify==1.2.3
 matplotlib==3.11.2
 mccabe==0.7.0
-mypy==2.3.1
+mypy==2.4.0
 numpy==2.5.3
 opencv-python==5.0.0.93
 pillow==12.3.0
@@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ pre-commit==4.6.2
 prospector==1.19.1
 pycodestyle==2.15.0
 pydocstyle==6.3.0
-pyflakes==4.0.0
+pyflakes==4.0.1
 pygame==2.6.1
-pylint==4.0.9
+pylint==4.1.1
 pyright==1.1.414
 pytest==9.1.1
 pytest-cov==7.1.0
@@ -77,12 +77,12 @@ radon==6.0.1
 reorder-python-imports==3.17.0
 requests==2.34.2
 rich==15.0.0
-ruff==0.16.9
+ruff==0.16.10
 # safety is deliberately not pinned: its only reference in this repo is a
 # commented-out pre-commit hook, and safety 3.8.1 declares `typer<0.26`,
 # which would hold the typer this repo actually imports below latest.
 secretstorage==3.5.0
-selenium==4.49.0
+selenium==4.50.0
 typer==0.27.2
 types-python-dateutil==2.9.0.20260807
 types-PyYAML==6.0.12.20260906