diff --git a/install b/install
index 513278a..2cb4dd4 100755
--- a/install
+++ b/install
@@ -105,6 +105,23 @@ record_packages_hash() {
   hash_packages >"$PACKAGES_HASH"
 }
 
+# Repository trust is checked before the installer can reach its bootstrap DNF.
+# Status 78 is reserved for a trust-root failure and is propagated unchanged so
+# no later stage, especially install-hardware, can invoke DNF with that repo.
+TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS=78
+trust_preflight="$PANAMA_PATH/setup/scripts/install-packages"
+if [[ ! -x "$trust_preflight" ]]; then
+  printf 'install: package repository trust preflight is unavailable\n' >&2
+  exit "$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS"
+fi
+if "$trust_preflight" --trust-preflight; then
+  :
+else
+  trust_status=$?
+  printf 'install: package repository trust preflight failed\n' >&2
+  exit "$trust_status"
+fi
+
 # ── The interview ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 #
 # Everything Panama needs to be told is asked here, before a single package is
@@ -294,11 +311,18 @@ for stage in "${STAGES[@]}"; do
     echo "Run with --packages to install them anyway."
     continue
   fi
-  if ! "$script"; then
+  if "$script"; then
+    if [[ "$stage" == install-packages ]]; then
+      record_packages_hash
+    fi
+  else
+    stage_status=$?
+    if [[ "$stage" == install-packages && "$stage_status" -eq "$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS" ]]; then
+      printf '!!! %s stopped on an untrusted package repository\n' "$stage" >&2
+      exit "$stage_status"
+    fi
     failed+=("$stage")
     printf '!!! %s failed\n' "$stage" >&2
-  elif [[ "$stage" == install-packages ]]; then
-    record_packages_hash
   fi
 done
 
diff --git a/setup/scripts/install-packages b/setup/scripts/install-packages
index 31c0816..b74cb0f 100755
--- a/setup/scripts/install-packages
+++ b/setup/scripts/install-packages
@@ -294,6 +294,36 @@ _ini_section_count() {
 	' "$file"
 }
 
+_ini_key_occurrence_count() {
+	local file="$1" wanted_section="$2" wanted_key="$3"
+	awk -v wanted_section="$wanted_section" -v wanted_key="$wanted_key" '
+		function trim(value) {
+			sub(/^[[:space:]]+/, "", value)
+			sub(/[[:space:]]+$/, "", value)
+			return value
+		}
+		{
+			sub(/\r$/, "")
+			line = trim($0)
+			if (line == "" || line ~ /^[#;]/) next
+			if (line ~ /^\[[^]]+\]$/) {
+				section = substr(line, 2, length(line) - 2)
+				next
+			}
+			if (tolower(section) != tolower(wanted_section)) next
+			equals = index(line, "=")
+			if (equals > 0) {
+				key = trim(substr(line, 1, equals - 1))
+			} else {
+				split(line, words, /[[:space:]]+/)
+				key = words[1]
+			}
+			if (tolower(key) == tolower(wanted_key)) count++
+		}
+		END { print count + 0 }
+	' "$file"
+}
+
 _restore_repository_file() {
 	local existed="$1" backup="$2" mode="$3" destination="$4"
 	if (( existed )); then
@@ -346,29 +376,107 @@ _publish_repository_pair() {
 	return "$status"
 }
 
-_terra_repository_is_trusted() {
-	local repo_file baseurl enabled gpgcheck repo_gpgcheck gpgkey local_key
-	repo_file="$PANAMA_SYSTEM_ETC/yum.repos.d/terra.repo"
-	[[ -f "$repo_file" ]] || return 1
-	baseurl="$(_ini_value "$repo_file" terra baseurl)" || return 1
-	enabled="$(_ini_value "$repo_file" terra enabled)" || return 1
-	gpgcheck="$(_ini_value "$repo_file" terra gpgcheck)" || return 1
-	repo_gpgcheck="$(_ini_value "$repo_file" terra repo_gpgcheck)" || return 1
-	gpgkey="$(_ini_value "$repo_file" terra gpgkey)" || return 1
-	[[ "$baseurl" == "${INSTALLER_PROVENANCE[TERRA_BASEURL]}" \
-		&& "$enabled" == 1 && "$gpgcheck" == 1 && "$repo_gpgcheck" == 1 \
-		&& "$gpgkey" == 'file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama' ]] || return 1
+_effective_terra_key() {
+	awk -v reviewed_baseurl="${INSTALLER_PROVENANCE[TERRA_BASEURL]}" '
+		function reset_block() {
+			delete values
+			delete seen
+			in_block = 0
+			id = ""
+		}
+		function finish_block( key) {
+			if (!in_block) return
+			if (seen["enabled"] != 1) {
+				bad = 1
+				return
+			}
+			if (values["enabled"] != "1") return
+			enabled_count++
+			if (id != "terra") bad = 1
+			for (key in required) {
+				if (seen[key] != 1) bad = 1
+			}
+			if (values["baseurl"] != reviewed_baseurl || values["metalink"] != "" \
+				|| values["mirrorlist"] != "" || values["gpgcheck"] != "1" \
+				|| values["pkg_gpgcheck"] != "1" || values["repo_gpgcheck"] != "1" \
+				|| values["gpgkey"] != "file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama") bad = 1
+			trusted_key = values["gpgkey"]
+		}
+		BEGIN {
+			split("enabled baseurl metalink mirrorlist gpgcheck pkg_gpgcheck repo_gpgcheck gpgkey", fields)
+			for (field_index in fields) required[fields[field_index]] = 1
+			reset_block()
+		}
+		/^======== ".*" repository configuration: ========$/ {
+			finish_block()
+			reset_block()
+			id = $0
+			sub(/^======== "/, "", id)
+			sub(/" repository configuration: ========$/, "", id)
+			if (id == "" || id !~ /^terra/) bad = 1
+			in_block = 1
+			next
+		}
+		{
+			if (!in_block || $0 == "") next
+			separator = index($0, " = ")
+			if (separator > 0) {
+				key = substr($0, 1, separator - 1)
+				if (key in required) {
+					seen[key]++
+					values[key] = substr($0, separator + 3)
+				}
+			} else if ($0 == "mirrorlist") {
+				seen["mirrorlist"]++
+				values["mirrorlist"] = ""
+			}
+		}
+		END {
+			finish_block()
+			if (bad || enabled_count > 1) exit 2
+			if (enabled_count == 0) exit 1
+			print trusted_key
+		}
+	'
+}
+
+# Status 0 is one trusted effective Terra identity, 1 is no enabled Terra
+# identity, and 2 is an unsafe, duplicated, or unreadable effective state.
+_terra_effective_status() {
+	local dump gpgkey parse_status=0 local_key
+	dump="$(dnf --quiet --no-plugins --dump-repo-config='terra*')" || return 2
+	gpgkey="$(printf '%s\n' "$dump" | _effective_terra_key)" || parse_status=$?
+	(( parse_status == 0 )) || return "$parse_status"
+	[[ "$gpgkey" == 'file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama' ]] || return 2
 	local_key="$PANAMA_SYSTEM_ETC/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama"
-	[[ -f "$local_key" ]] || return 1
+	[[ -f "$local_key" ]] || return 2
 	key_fingerprint_matches "$PANAMA_PATH/setup/provenance/keys/terra44.asc" \
 		"${INSTALLER_PROVENANCE[TERRA_FINGERPRINT]}" \
 		&& key_fingerprint_matches "$local_key" \
-			"${INSTALLER_PROVENANCE[TERRA_FINGERPRINT]}"
+			"${INSTALLER_PROVENANCE[TERRA_FINGERPRINT]}" \
+		|| return 2
+}
+
+TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS=78
+
+preflight_terra_trust() {
+	local status=0
+	_require_policy_value TERRA_BASEURL 'https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44' \
+		|| return "$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS"
+	_require_policy_value TERRA_FINGERPRINT AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F \
+		|| return "$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS"
+	_terra_effective_status || status=$?
+	if (( status == 0 || status == 1 )); then
+		return 0
+	fi
+	log "Effective Terra repository configuration is not trusted; refusing all package work"
+	return "$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS"
 }
 
 # Status 0 is trusted, 1 is absent, and 2 is present but untrusted or malformed.
 _flathub_remote_status() {
 	local config section_count url gpg_verify summary_verify disabled disabled_status
+	local alternate_key_count
 	config="$PANAMA_SYSTEM_FLATPAK_REPO/config"
 	[[ -f "$config" ]] || return 1
 	section_count="$(_ini_section_count "$config" 'remote "flathub"')" || return 2
@@ -387,6 +495,11 @@ _flathub_remote_status() {
 	elif (( disabled_status != 1 )); then
 		return 2
 	fi
+	alternate_key_count="$(_ini_key_occurrence_count "$config" 'remote "flathub"' gpgkeypath)" \
+		|| return 2
+	# The reviewed default keyring is the only permitted trust source. Empty,
+	# duplicate, malformed, and nonempty alternate paths all fail closed.
+	(( alternate_key_count == 0 )) || return 2
 	[[ -f "$PANAMA_SYSTEM_FLATPAK_REPO/flathub.trustedkeys.gpg" ]] || return 2
 	key_fingerprint_matches "$PANAMA_SYSTEM_FLATPAK_REPO/flathub.trustedkeys.gpg" \
 		"${INSTALLER_PROVENANCE[FLATHUB_FINGERPRINT]}" || return 2
@@ -428,17 +541,21 @@ install_rpmfusion_repositories() {
 }
 
 install_terra_repository() {
-	local work staged_key staged_repo status
+	local work staged_key staged_repo status effective_status=0
 	require_reviewed_fedora_release || return 1
 	_require_policy_value TERRA_BASEURL 'https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44' || return 1
 	_require_policy_value TERRA_FINGERPRINT AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F || return 1
+	_terra_effective_status || effective_status=$?
+	if (( effective_status == 0 )); then
+		log "Terra repository already configured and verified"
+		return 0
+	elif (( effective_status != 1 )); then
+		log "Effective Terra repository configuration is not trusted"
+		return "$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS"
+	fi
 	if rpm -q terra-release >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-		if _terra_repository_is_trusted; then
-			log "Terra repository already installed and verified"
-			return 0
-		fi
-		log "Installed Terra repository does not match Panama's reviewed trust policy"
-		return 1
+		log "terra-release is installed without one trusted enabled Terra repository"
+		return "$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS"
 	fi
 	work="$(mktemp -d)" || return 1
 	chmod 0700 "$work"
@@ -472,8 +589,10 @@ install_terra_repository() {
 	if (( status == 0 )); then
 		sudo install -m 0644 "$staged_repo" /etc/yum.repos.d/terra.repo || status=$?
 	fi
-	if (( status == 0 )) && ! _terra_repository_is_trusted; then
-		status=1
+	if (( status == 0 )); then
+		effective_status=0
+		_terra_effective_status || effective_status=$?
+		(( effective_status == 0 )) || status="$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS"
 	fi
 	rm -rf -- "$work"
 	return "$status"
@@ -513,7 +632,7 @@ configure_hyprland_repository() {
 
 ensure_flathub_remote() {
 	local work descriptor encoded key_file url no_gpg_verify gpg_verify
-	local status remote_status no_gpg_status gpg_status
+	local alternate_key_count status remote_status no_gpg_status gpg_status
 	require_reviewed_fedora_release || return 1
 	_require_policy_value FLATHUB_DESCRIPTOR_URL 'https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo' || return 1
 	_require_policy_value FLATHUB_DESCRIPTOR_MAX_BYTES 1048576 || return 1
@@ -556,6 +675,12 @@ ensure_flathub_remote() {
 		rm -rf -- "$work"
 		return 1
 	fi
+	alternate_key_count="$(_ini_key_occurrence_count "$descriptor" 'Flatpak Repo' GPGKeyPath)" \
+		|| alternate_key_count=1
+	if (( alternate_key_count != 0 )); then
+		rm -rf -- "$work"
+		return 1
+	fi
 	if ! key_fingerprint_matches "$key_file" "${INSTALLER_PROVENANCE[FLATHUB_FINGERPRINT]}"; then
 		rm -rf -- "$work"
 		return 1
@@ -648,6 +773,20 @@ install_claude_desktop_if_trusted() {
 # RPM Fusion, no Terra, no COPR, no multimedia, no flatpaks: those exist for a
 # desktop, and every one of them is a network dependency and a failure mode a
 # headless machine has no reason to carry.
+if [[ "${1:-}" == --trust-preflight ]]; then
+	if preflight_terra_trust; then
+		exit 0
+	else
+		exit $?
+	fi
+fi
+
+# Repeat the enclosing installer's early preflight at the package boundary so
+# a repository change made after startup cannot reach this stage's first DNF.
+if ! preflight_terra_trust; then
+	exit "$TERRA_TRUST_FAILURE_STATUS"
+fi
+
 if [[ "$ROLE" == server ]]; then
 	echo -e "\n--- Installing packages (server) ---"
 	log "Updating all packages. This may take a while"
diff --git a/tests/setup/package-provenance-contract b/tests/setup/package-provenance-contract
index 39fcbe3..a0902f2 100755
--- a/tests/setup/package-provenance-contract
+++ b/tests/setup/package-provenance-contract
@@ -445,6 +445,71 @@ STUB
 
     cat > "$case_root/bin/dnf" <<'STUB'
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+if [[ "$*" == '--quiet --no-plugins --dump-repo-config=terra*' ]]; then
+    printf 'dnf:dump-terra\n' >> "$COMMAND_LOG"
+    mode="${STUB_TERRA_EFFECTIVE_MODE:-auto}"
+    if [[ "$mode" == auto ]]; then
+        case "${STUB_TERRA_REPO_MODE:-absent}" in
+            trusted|wrong-key) mode=trusted ;;
+            nogpg) mode=legacy ;;
+            wrong-url) mode=override-url ;;
+        esac
+        if [[ "$mode" == auto && -f "$STUB_ETC/yum.repos.d/terra.repo" ]] \
+            && grep -q '^baseurl=https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44$' "$STUB_ETC/yum.repos.d/terra.repo"; then
+            mode=trusted
+        elif [[ "$mode" == auto ]]; then
+            mode=absent
+        fi
+    fi
+    case "$mode" in
+        absent) exit 0 ;;
+        trusted)
+            printf '======== "terra" repository configuration: ========\n'
+            printf 'baseurl = https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44\n'
+            printf 'enabled = 1\n'
+            printf 'gpgcheck = 1\n'
+            printf 'gpgkey = file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama\n'
+            printf 'metalink = \nmirrorlist = \npkg_gpgcheck = 1\nrepo_gpgcheck = 1\n'
+            ;;
+        legacy)
+            printf '======== "terra" repository configuration: ========\n'
+            printf 'baseurl = \nenabled = 1\ngpgcheck = 0\n'
+            printf 'gpgkey = https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44.key\n'
+            printf 'metalink = https://tetsudou.fyralabs.com/terra44\nmirrorlist = \n'
+            printf 'pkg_gpgcheck = 0\nrepo_gpgcheck = 0\n'
+            ;;
+        override-url)
+            printf '======== "terra" repository configuration: ========\n'
+            printf 'baseurl = https://evil.invalid/terra44\nenabled = 1\ngpgcheck = 1\n'
+            printf 'gpgkey = file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama\n'
+            printf 'metalink = \nmirrorlist = \npkg_gpgcheck = 1\nrepo_gpgcheck = 1\n'
+            ;;
+        override-gpg)
+            printf '======== "terra" repository configuration: ========\n'
+            printf 'baseurl = https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44\nenabled = 1\ngpgcheck = 0\n'
+            printf 'gpgkey = file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama\n'
+            printf 'metalink = \nmirrorlist = \npkg_gpgcheck = 0\nrepo_gpgcheck = 0\n'
+            ;;
+        duplicate)
+            for id in terra terra; do
+                printf '======== "%s" repository configuration: ========\n' "$id"
+                printf 'baseurl = https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44\nenabled = 1\ngpgcheck = 1\n'
+                printf 'gpgkey = file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama\n'
+                printf 'metalink = \nmirrorlist = \npkg_gpgcheck = 1\nrepo_gpgcheck = 1\n'
+            done
+            ;;
+        alternate)
+            for id in terra terra-legacy; do
+                printf '======== "%s" repository configuration: ========\n' "$id"
+                printf 'baseurl = https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44\nenabled = 1\ngpgcheck = 1\n'
+                printf 'gpgkey = file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama\n'
+                printf 'metalink = \nmirrorlist = \npkg_gpgcheck = 1\nrepo_gpgcheck = 1\n'
+            done
+            ;;
+    esac
+    exit 0
+fi
 exit 69
 STUB
 
@@ -537,6 +602,23 @@ run_installer_function() {
             cp "$installer_fixture/setup/provenance/keys/flathub.asc" \
                 "$case_root/flatpak-repo/flathub.trustedkeys.gpg"
             ;;
+        alternate-key)
+            printf '[core]\nrepo_version=1\n\n[remote "flathub"]\nurl=https://dl.flathub.org/repo/\ngpg-verify=true\ngpg-verify-summary=true\ngpgkeypath=/unreviewed/keyring.gpg\n' \
+                > "$case_root/flatpak-repo/config"
+            cp "$installer_fixture/setup/provenance/keys/flathub.asc" \
+                "$case_root/flatpak-repo/flathub.trustedkeys.gpg"
+            ;;
+        empty-alternate-key|duplicate-alternate-key|malformed-alternate-key)
+            printf '[core]\nrepo_version=1\n\n[remote "flathub"]\nurl=https://dl.flathub.org/repo/\ngpg-verify=true\ngpg-verify-summary=true\n' \
+                > "$case_root/flatpak-repo/config"
+            case "$STUB_FLATPAK_REMOTE_MODE" in
+                empty-alternate-key) printf 'gpgkeypath=\n' ;;
+                duplicate-alternate-key) printf 'gpgkeypath=\ngpgkeypath=/unreviewed/keyring.gpg\n' ;;
+                malformed-alternate-key) printf 'gpgkeypath /unreviewed/keyring.gpg\n' ;;
+            esac >> "$case_root/flatpak-repo/config"
+            cp "$installer_fixture/setup/provenance/keys/flathub.asc" \
+                "$case_root/flatpak-repo/flathub.trustedkeys.gpg"
+            ;;
     esac
     case "${STUB_CLAUDE_DESKTOP_REPO_MODE:-absent}" in
         trusted)
@@ -602,11 +684,13 @@ reset_installer_fixture
 expect_success run_installer_function terra install_terra_repository
 assert_log terra "$(cat <<'EXPECTED'
 rpm:release
+dnf:dump-terra
 rpm:query:terra-release
 gpg:fingerprint:AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F
 sudo:install:terra44.asc:/etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama
 sudo:dnf install -y --repofrompath terra,https://repos.fyralabs.com/terra44 --setopt=terra.pkg_gpgcheck=1 --setopt=terra.repo_gpgcheck=1 --setopt=terra.gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-terra44-panama terra-release
 sudo:install:terra.repo:/etc/yum.repos.d/terra.repo
+dnf:dump-terra
 gpg:fingerprint:AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F
 gpg:fingerprint:AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F
 EXPECTED
@@ -713,7 +797,8 @@ EXPECTED
 )"
 assert_file_bytes "$test_tmp/cases/flathub-existing-trusted/flatpak-state" 'preserved'
 
-for mode in wrong-url wrong-key no-gpg; do
+for mode in wrong-url wrong-key no-gpg alternate-key empty-alternate-key \
+    duplicate-alternate-key malformed-alternate-key; do
     reset_installer_fixture
     name="flathub-existing-$mode"
     STUB_FLATPAK_REMOTE_MODE="$mode" \
@@ -729,7 +814,7 @@ STUB_TERRA_INSTALLED=1 STUB_TERRA_REPO_MODE=trusted \
     expect_success run_installer_function terra-existing-trusted install_terra_repository
 assert_log terra-existing-trusted "$(cat <<'EXPECTED'
 rpm:release
-rpm:query:terra-release
+dnf:dump-terra
 gpg:fingerprint:AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F
 gpg:fingerprint:AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F
 EXPECTED
@@ -748,7 +833,11 @@ done
 # when one copy looks safe. These cases catch the absent/duplicate conflation.
 for duplicate_case in \
     $'duplicate-no-gpg NoGPGVerify=false\nNoGPGVerify=true' \
-    $'duplicate-gpg-verify GPGVerify=true\nGPGVerify=false'; do
+    $'duplicate-gpg-verify GPGVerify=true\nGPGVerify=false' \
+    'alternate-gpg-key-path GPGKeyPath=/unreviewed/keyring.gpg' \
+    'empty-gpg-key-path GPGKeyPath=' \
+    $'duplicate-gpg-key-path GPGKeyPath=\nGPGKeyPath=/unreviewed/keyring.gpg' \
+    'malformed-gpg-key-path GPGKeyPath /unreviewed/keyring.gpg'; do
     name="${duplicate_case%% *}"
     lines="${duplicate_case#* }"
     reset_installer_fixture
@@ -759,6 +848,35 @@ for duplicate_case in \
         || fail "$name descriptor reached remote activation"
 done
 
+# DNF's non-networking effective configuration dump, rather than any one repo
+# file, decides whether Terra is absent, trusted, overridden, or duplicated.
+reset_installer_fixture
+STUB_TERRA_EFFECTIVE_MODE=absent \
+    expect_success run_installer_function terra-effective-absent preflight_terra_trust
+assert_log terra-effective-absent 'dnf:dump-terra'
+
+reset_installer_fixture
+STUB_TERRA_EFFECTIVE_MODE=trusted STUB_TERRA_REPO_MODE=trusted \
+    expect_success run_installer_function terra-effective-trusted preflight_terra_trust
+assert_log terra-effective-trusted "$(cat <<'EXPECTED'
+dnf:dump-terra
+gpg:fingerprint:AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F
+gpg:fingerprint:AE09157A4DE88B497EA1D5D300CDAB43DE226D6F
+EXPECTED
+)"
+
+for mode in legacy override-url override-gpg duplicate alternate; do
+    reset_installer_fixture
+    name="terra-effective-$mode"
+    status=0
+    STUB_TERRA_EFFECTIVE_MODE="$mode" STUB_TERRA_REPO_MODE=trusted \
+        run_installer_function "$name" preflight_terra_trust || status=$?
+    [[ "$status" -eq 78 ]] \
+        || fail "effective Terra $mode returned $status instead of hard trust status 78"
+    [[ "$(<"$test_tmp/cases/$name/commands.log")" != *'sudo:'* ]] \
+        || fail "effective Terra $mode reached a transaction"
+done
+
 assert_pair_rollback() {
     local name="$1" pair="$2" prior="$3" key repo
     case "$pair" in
diff --git a/tests/setup/update-command-contract b/tests/setup/update-command-contract
index baa8f77..5d781fd 100755
--- a/tests/setup/update-command-contract
+++ b/tests/setup/update-command-contract
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ STAGE_NAMES=(install-packages link-dotfiles link-skills link-user change-setting
 # A PANAMA_PATH that looks enough like the real one for install to run, and
 # records what it was asked to do instead of doing it.
 build_fixture() {
-    local root="$1" packages_rc="${2:-0}"
+    local root="$1" packages_rc="${2:-0}" trust_rc="${3:-0}"
     rm -rf "$root"
     mkdir -p "$root/bin" "$root/setup/scripts" "$root/setup/packages" \
              "$root/config/dot/quickshell/scripts"
@@ -63,6 +63,10 @@ EOF
     # The one stage whose exit code the caller wants to control.
     cat >"$root/setup/scripts/install-packages" <<EOF
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
+if [[ "\${1:-}" == --trust-preflight ]]; then
+  printf 'trust-preflight\n' >>"\$PANAMA_RAN"
+  exit $trust_rc
+fi
 printf 'install-packages\n' >>"\$PANAMA_RAN"
 exit $packages_rc
 EOF
@@ -103,6 +107,14 @@ EOF
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 exit 0
 EOF
+    cat >"$root/shim/dnf" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+printf 'dnf-transaction\n' >>"$PANAMA_RAN"
+exit 0
+EOF
+    for prerequisite in gum lspci mokutil fwupdmgr; do
+        ln -s gsettings "$root/shim/$prerequisite"
+    done
     chmod +x "$root/shim"/*
 }
 
@@ -215,6 +227,44 @@ run_install "$tmp/c" --upgrade >/dev/null || install_status=$?
 if [[ -r "$tmp/c/state/panama/packages-hash" ]]; then
     note 'install-packages failed but its hash was recorded, so it will never be retried'
 fi
+grep -qx 'link-dotfiles' "$tmp/c/ran" \
+    || note 'an ordinary package-stage failure no longer allows later safe stages'
+
+# An invalid enabled Terra root is not an ordinary package failure. It must
+# stop before the installer's bootstrap DNF and before every stage.
+build_fixture "$tmp/terra-preflight-hard" 0 78
+install_status=0
+run_install "$tmp/terra-preflight-hard" >/dev/null || install_status=$?
+[[ "$install_status" -eq 78 ]] \
+    || note "initial Terra trust failure returned $install_status instead of 78"
+asserted_preflight="$(<"$tmp/terra-preflight-hard/ran")"
+[[ "$asserted_preflight" == trust-preflight ]] \
+    || note "initial Terra trust failure allowed later work: ${asserted_preflight//$'\n'/,}"
+
+# The trust verifier is itself mandatory. Losing its executable adapter must
+# fail closed before interview, bootstrap, or stage work.
+build_fixture "$tmp/terra-preflight-missing"
+rm "$tmp/terra-preflight-missing/setup/scripts/install-packages"
+install_status=0
+run_install "$tmp/terra-preflight-missing" >/dev/null || install_status=$?
+[[ "$install_status" -eq 78 ]] \
+    || note "missing Terra trust verifier returned $install_status instead of 78"
+[[ ! -s "$tmp/terra-preflight-missing/ran" ]] \
+    || note 'missing Terra trust verifier allowed later work'
+
+# The package stage repeats the preflight to close a configuration-change race.
+# Its hard status must also stop link stages and install-hardware immediately.
+build_fixture "$tmp/terra-stage-hard" 78 0
+install_status=0
+run_install "$tmp/terra-stage-hard" >/dev/null || install_status=$?
+[[ "$install_status" -eq 78 ]] \
+    || note "stage-time Terra trust failure returned $install_status instead of 78"
+grep -qx 'install-packages' "$tmp/terra-stage-hard/ran" \
+    || note 'stage-time Terra trust fixture never reached install-packages'
+for suppressed in link-dotfiles link-skills link-user change-settings install-hardware dnf-transaction; do
+    grep -qx "$suppressed" "$tmp/terra-stage-hard/ran" \
+        && note "stage-time Terra trust failure still ran $suppressed"
+done
 
 # A full install always runs the stage, whatever any recorded hash says.
 build_fixture "$tmp/d"