diff --git a/docs/shell-split-recipes.md b/docs/shell-split-recipes.md
index a2f3e16d..9a0fd51e 100644
--- a/docs/shell-split-recipes.md
+++ b/docs/shell-split-recipes.md
@@ -11,10 +11,13 @@ enforcement script that mutates the live system or the phone.**
 - After each split, `bash -n` and `shellcheck` the entry script _and_ every new
   lib. **Neither catches a `source` line that resolves to the wrong path** —
   both passed clean on a split whose lib was unreachable at runtime.
-- So the real check is a **stubbed run**: copy the entry script and its libs to
-  a `mktemp -d`, `sed` the final `main` invocation into a `declare -F` probe,
-  and run it. That executes the `source` lines and nothing else. This caught
-  the bug below; no static check did.
+- So the real check is a **stubbed run**, scripted as
+  `meta/scripts/verify_shell_split.sh <script> <function>...`: it mirrors the
+  repo tree into a `mktemp -d`, replaces the final `main` invocation with a
+  `declare -F` probe, and runs that. The `source` lines execute and nothing
+  else, which makes it safe for installers. Across 18 splits it caught five
+  bugs no static check did. It needs the script to end in `main "$@"`; for the
+  rest, use the by-hand checks below.
 
 ### Use `${BASH_SOURCE[0]}`, not `$0`
 
@@ -95,6 +98,37 @@ grep -rn -E '^\s*(sudo )?(install|cp)\s.*(SCRIPT_DIR|REPO).*/usr/local/' \
   Reuse it instead of adding a second declaration, or the script dies with
   `readonly variable`. `bash -n` and `shellcheck` both pass on that.
 
+### Splitting the same file twice is the risky move
+
+The splitter inserts its `source` line relative to the file as it currently
+stands, so a second pass can **displace the first pass's line**. On
+`20-dump-stock.sh` that left `verify_dump` called but never defined, and the
+repair then put the line inside the lib rather than the entry script.
+
+After any double split: `grep -n 'source "\$SCRIPT_DIR' <entry> <libs>` and
+check that the entry sources **every** lib and **no lib sources another**.
+`shellcheck` without `-x` on a lib is what surfaces this — a lib sourcing a
+sibling reports SC1091 "does not exist", because the relative path is only
+valid from the entry script's directory.
+
+### Globals read across the seam
+
+Common, and the fix depends on how many:
+
+- **One or two, module-level constants** — rename to UPPERCASE, matching what
+  the surrounding files already do (`QUIET`, `FORCE`). Worked for
+  `DESKTOP_DIR` in `fix_unity.sh`.
+- **A flag the caller computes** — pass it as a parameter. Worked for
+  `persist_with_systemd_logind`.
+- **Several, threaded through three files** — stop. See below.
+
+### Unguarded `cd` turns up constantly
+
+Two found in five splits (`build_website`, the study-material generator), both
+pre-existing, both a real bug: a failed `cd` runs the next command in the
+caller's directory. They only surface on splitting because a moved function
+gets linted in isolation. Fix with `|| die` / `|| return 1`, never a suppression.
+
 ### When to give up on a seam
 
 `clean_audio.sh` was reverted. Two probe-result globals were read by functions
diff --git a/docs/superpowers/evidence/verify-shell-split-script-2026-08-16.json b/docs/superpowers/evidence/verify-shell-split-script-2026-08-16.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..830b1c79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/superpowers/evidence/verify-shell-split-script-2026-08-16.json
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+{
+  "intent": "Commit the shell-split verifier as a repo script instead of leaving it in a scratchpad, since it has caught five bugs that bash -n and shellcheck both missed.",
+  "scope": [
+    "meta/scripts/verify_shell_split.sh (new)",
+    "docs/shell-split-recipes.md (points at it, and records the double-split, cross-seam-global and unguarded-cd findings)",
+    "Non-goal: no behaviour change to any script it checks"
+  ],
+  "changes": [
+    "Added meta/scripts/verify_shell_split.sh. It mirrors the repo tree into a mktemp -d, copies the entry script and its lib/, replaces the final main invocation with a declare -F probe, and runs that. The source lines execute and nothing else, which is what makes it usable on installers and enforcement scripts under decision 6.",
+    "Its header records what it caught across 18 splits: SCRIPT_DIR computed from $0, a redeclared readonly SCRIPT_DIR, a source line displaced by a second split, and two libs sourcing a sibling. It also states its limit - the script must end in main \"$@\".",
+    "Resolved two SC2016 warnings by building the literal dollar sign through a variable rather than adding a disable directive, so the file is clean with no suppression.",
+    "docs/shell-split-recipes.md now points at the script and adds three sections earned in the last two batches: splitting a file twice, globals read across the seam, and unguarded cd."
+  ],
+  "verification": [
+    {
+      "command": "bash meta/scripts/verify_shell_split.sh <a correctly split script>",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "install_joplin.sh reports 'libs sourced, functions defined'."
+    },
+    {
+      "command": "deliberately point the source line at a nonexistent lib, re-run, then restore",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "Reports 'lib/DOES_NOT_EXIST.sh: No such file or directory' and exits non-zero; passes again once restored. Tested in both directions, because a checker that never fails is worse than none."
+    },
+    {
+      "command": "shellcheck meta/scripts/verify_shell_split.sh",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "Clean with no disable directive."
+    },
+    {
+      "command": "pre-commit run --files <changed>",
+      "result": "pass",
+      "evidence": "shellcheck, shfmt and the shebang-executable hook all pass."
+    }
+  ],
+  "risks": [
+    "The verifier only works on scripts ending in `main \"$@\"` or `main`. Scripts that run top-level statements silently do less: the probe replaces nothing and the script would run for real, so those must use the by-hand checks in the doc instead. The header says so, but it is not enforced.",
+    "It mirrors only linux_configuration/scripts/lib and the script's own lib/. A script sourcing something outside those paths would fail in the temp tree for a reason unrelated to the split."
+  ],
+  "rollback": [
+    "git revert the commit; the script disappears and the doc loses its pointer.",
+    "The scratchpad copy is session-local and not a durable fallback."
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/meta/scripts/verify_shell_split.sh b/meta/scripts/verify_shell_split.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..775b23fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/meta/scripts/verify_shell_split.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Verify a shell script split into lib/*.sh: syntax, lint, libs reachable.
+#
+# Usage: verify_shell_split.sh <script> <function> [function...]
+#
+# The stubbed run is the part that matters. bash -n and shellcheck both pass on
+# a script whose `source` line resolves to nothing, so this mirrors the repo
+# tree into a temp dir, replaces the final `main "$@"` with a probe that only
+# checks the named functions are defined, and runs that. Nothing else executes,
+# which is what makes it safe for installers and enforcement scripts.
+#
+# Across 18 splits it caught five bugs no static check did: SCRIPT_DIR computed
+# from $0, a redeclared readonly SCRIPT_DIR, a source line displaced by a second
+# split, and two libs sourcing a sibling. See docs/shell-split-recipes.md.
+#
+# Only works when the script ends in `main "$@"` or `main`. Scripts that run
+# top-level statements need the by-hand checks in that doc instead.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+script="$1"
+shift
+required_funcs=("$@")
+
+dir="$(dirname "$script")"
+tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$tmp"' EXIT
+
+echo "--- $(basename "$script")"
+bash -n "$script" || exit 1
+shellcheck -x "$script" || exit 1
+for lib in "$dir"/lib/*.sh; do
+	[[ -e $lib ]] || continue
+	bash -n "$lib" || exit 1
+	shellcheck "$lib" || exit 1
+done
+
+dollar='$'
+grep -q "source \"${dollar}SCRIPT_DIR/" "$script" || {
+	echo "no source line found" >&2
+	exit 1
+}
+
+# Mirror the repo tree so repo-relative sources (../../lib/common.sh) resolve.
+repo="$(git -C "$dir" rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
+rel="$(realpath --relative-to="$repo" "$script")"
+mkdir -p "$tmp/$(dirname "$rel")"
+cp -r "$repo/linux_configuration/scripts/lib" "$tmp/linux_configuration/scripts/" 2>/dev/null || true
+cp "$script" "$tmp/$rel"
+[[ -d "$dir/lib" ]] && cp -r "$dir/lib" "$tmp/$(dirname "$rel")/"
+entry="$tmp/$rel"
+
+probe='for f in'
+for f in "${required_funcs[@]}"; do probe+=" $f"; done
+probe+="; do declare -F \"${dollar}f\" >/dev/null || { echo \"MISSING: ${dollar}f\"; exit 1; }; done"
+probe+='; echo "  libs sourced, functions defined"'
+
+python3 - "$entry" "$probe" <<'PY'
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+p, probe = Path(sys.argv[1]), sys.argv[2]
+out = [probe + "\n" if l.rstrip() in ('main "$@"', "main") else l
+       for l in p.read_text().splitlines(keepends=True)]
+p.write_text("".join(out))
+PY
+bash "$entry"