diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 015fe60d..0dfda7aa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -590,11 +590,24 @@ jobs:
           # every OS, so $VAR resolves the same on the Windows legs (Git Bash).
           FAULT_TIMEOUT: ${{ matrix.fault_timeout }}
           PYTEST_TIMEOUT: ${{ matrix.pytest_timeout }}
-        run: pytest -q -o faulthandler_timeout="$FAULT_TIMEOUT" --timeout="$PYTEST_TIMEOUT"
+        # `--ignore-glob` subtracts the web console package, which runs as its OWN step below. BACKLOG
+        # #1027 added that package to the root `testpaths` so a bare local `pytest` stops silently
+        # excluding it; without this subtraction the SAME 356 tests would then run TWICE on every leg.
+        # Measured 2026-08-08 on this branch: bare collection 11,956, console-only 356, with this flag
+        # 11,600.
+        # NOT `--ignore=<path>` -- measured, it does NOT prune a directory that `testpaths` names as a
+        # collection root, and still collected all 11,956. The obvious spelling is the one that fails.
+        # NOT `pytest tests` either: hardcoding the engine path would make CI silently miss any future
+        # third entry in `testpaths`, which is the exact drift #1027 exists to prevent. Subtracting FROM
+        # `testpaths` keeps it the single source of truth for what the suite is.
+        # `tests/test_ci_engine_step_excludes_webconsole.py` pins all three of those decisions.
+        run: pytest -q --ignore-glob='*messagefoundry-webconsole*' -o faulthandler_timeout="$FAULT_TIMEOUT" --timeout="$PYTEST_TIMEOUT"
 
       # The web console's OWN suite (Option B, ADR 0065): the moved /ui tests live in the package's
-      # tests/ (the engine `pytest` above no longer collects them — engine testpaths = ["tests"]), so
-      # run them as a SECOND step on the SAME leg. The package was installed editable in the install
+      # tests/. They ARE in the root `testpaths` since BACKLOG #1027, so a bare local `pytest` collects
+      # them -- the engine step above subtracts them explicitly via `--ignore-glob` rather than relying
+      # on `testpaths` to exclude them, which it no longer does. They still run as a SECOND step on the
+      # SAME leg, under the package's OWN pytest configuration. The package was installed editable in the install
       # step above (`-e packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole`), so both suites exercise the same
       # engine build. Its pyproject sets asyncio_mode="auto" + session loop scopes; the timeout flags
       # mirror the engine step (a hung ASGI test fails fast + named, not at the silent job cap).
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 657602b2..a627b8af 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -334,6 +334,7 @@ diverge enough to warrant it; keep this root file general.
 
 ```
 # tests (PySide6 harness/Qt tests need the offscreen platform)
+# testpaths now also collects packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests, so this covers the web console suite too.
 QT_QPA_PLATFORM=offscreen pytest -q          # PowerShell: $env:QT_QPA_PLATFORM="offscreen"; pytest -q
 
 # format / lint / types
diff --git a/docs/BACKLOG.md b/docs/BACKLOG.md
index 66c059b4..83634517 100644
--- a/docs/BACKLOG.md
+++ b/docs/BACKLOG.md
@@ -4995,7 +4995,7 @@ The comment immediately above says *"Scope is deliberately the posture the requi
 
 ## 1027. The documented `pytest` command silently excludes the webconsole package, so a local green is not evidence about ~344 tests
 
-> 🔢 **Filed 2026-08-05 — not started.** Value **5/10** · Difficulty **3/10** · _fill-in_. `testpaths = ["tests"]` means the command CLAUDE.md documents as the verification gate never collects `packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests`. A **failing** webconsole test sat on `main` through a full day of lanes because every quartet used the documented single path.
+> ✅ **SHIPPED 2026-08-06 — the root `testpaths` now also collects `packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests`, so a bare `pytest -q` from the repo root stops silently excluding the web console suite; the one webauthn-extra-dependent console test that lacked a guard (`test_webauthn_rp_fail_closed_legible`) now skips-with-reason when the optional `[webauthn]` extra is absent, so an extra-less local venv stays green.** Value **5/10** · Difficulty **3/10** · _fill-in_. Local developer-signal fix only — CI already covered the console via its dedicated `Web console tests (pytest)` step; the gap was that the documented local gate collected less than it appeared to.
 
 **Cluster:** Testing / verification integrity. **Priority:** P3. **Verdict:** build (small). **Severity:** no product effect; the defect is that the project's own verification instruction produces a green that is not evidence about roughly 344 tests, and CLAUDE.md §5 states a task is not done until it passes.
 
diff --git a/packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests/test_webui.py b/packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests/test_webui.py
index d7e18b46..e243678b 100644
--- a/packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests/test_webui.py
+++ b/packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests/test_webui.py
@@ -3674,6 +3674,7 @@ async def test_webauthn_cross_site_posts_rejected(engine: Engine) -> None:
 async def test_webauthn_rp_fail_closed_legible(engine: Engine) -> None:
     # AC-7: public_origin unset + request-derivation disallowed (the declared-proxy topology) —
     # ceremonies fail closed with the shared notice on every surface, never a redirect loop.
+    pytest.importorskip("webauthn")
     service = await _service(engine)
     await _add(service, "boss", Role.ADMINISTRATOR)
     transport = httpx.ASGITransport(
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 3baef80a..1a4866ba 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ asyncio_mode = "auto"
 # the fixture key needs >=0.24); the dev floor below is >=0.26 to match, and the lock pins 1.4.0.
 asyncio_default_test_loop_scope = "session"
 asyncio_default_fixture_loop_scope = "session"
-testpaths = ["tests"]
+testpaths = ["tests", "packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests"]
 # Per-test watchdog: a single hung await/socket is killed at 60s with a full thread-stack dump naming
 # the culprit, instead of burning the CI job's wall-clock. `thread` method works cross-platform (no
 # SIGALRM) and fires even when the main thread is blocked in a C call. Individual tests run well under
diff --git a/tests/test_ci_engine_step_excludes_webconsole.py b/tests/test_ci_engine_step_excludes_webconsole.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87c786e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_ci_engine_step_excludes_webconsole.py
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+# Copyright (C) 2026 MessageFoundry Organization and contributors
+"""CI's engine pytest step must subtract the web console package that ``testpaths`` now includes.
+
+BACKLOG #1027 added ``packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests`` to the root ``testpaths`` so a
+bare local ``pytest`` stops silently excluding roughly 350 tests. That fix has a CI-side
+consequence the original change did not carry: ``ci.yml`` runs a bare ``pytest`` for the engine
+step AND a second explicit step for the console package, so once ``testpaths`` includes the
+console the SAME tests run TWICE on every leg.
+
+Measured 2026-08-08: bare collection 11,956; console-only 356; with the subtraction 11,600.
+
+**The obvious spelling does not work, which is why this guard pins the working one.**
+``--ignore=packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests`` was measured and does NOT prune a directory
+that ``testpaths`` names as a collection root -- it still collected all 11,956. Only the glob form
+subtracts. A future edit "simplifying" the flag back to ``--ignore`` would restore the double-run
+silently, with every check still green, which is the same shape as the defect #1027 fixed.
+
+``pytest tests`` is also rejected, and deliberately: hardcoding the engine path would make CI miss
+any future third entry in ``testpaths``. Subtracting FROM ``testpaths`` keeps it the one source of
+truth for what the suite is.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+import tomllib
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+_CI = _ROOT / ".github" / "workflows" / "ci.yml"
+_PYPROJECT = _ROOT / "pyproject.toml"
+_CONSOLE = "packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests"
+
+
+def _engine_step_run_line() -> str:
+    """The `run:` line of the engine `Tests (pytest)` step."""
+    text = _CI.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    # The engine step is the bare `pytest -q ...` invocation; the console step names its path.
+    for line in text.splitlines():
+        stripped = line.strip()
+        if stripped.startswith("run: pytest -q"):
+            return stripped
+    pytest.fail(f"no engine `run: pytest -q` line found in {_CI}")
+
+
+def test_console_is_in_testpaths() -> None:
+    """Precondition: this guard is only meaningful while #1027's change is in place."""
+    cfg = tomllib.loads(_PYPROJECT.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    testpaths = cfg["tool"]["pytest"]["ini_options"]["testpaths"]
+    assert _CONSOLE in testpaths, (
+        f"expected {_CONSOLE!r} in testpaths (BACKLOG #1027); got {testpaths!r}. "
+        "If that was reverted deliberately, this guard and the ci.yml subtraction go with it."
+    )
+
+
+def test_engine_step_subtracts_the_console_package() -> None:
+    """Without this, the console's ~356 tests run twice per leg."""
+    run = _engine_step_run_line()
+    assert "--ignore-glob" in run and "messagefoundry-webconsole" in run, (
+        "ci.yml's engine `Tests (pytest)` step must subtract the web console package, which "
+        f"`testpaths` now includes and which runs as its own step. Found:\n    {run}"
+    )
+
+
+def test_engine_step_does_not_use_plain_ignore() -> None:
+    """`--ignore=<path>` was measured NOT to prune a `testpaths` collection root."""
+    run = _engine_step_run_line()
+    plain = re.search(r"--ignore(?!-glob)[= ]", run)
+    assert plain is None, (
+        "`--ignore=<path>` does not prune a directory named by `testpaths` -- measured 2026-08-08, "
+        "it still collected all 11,956 tests. Use `--ignore-glob`. Found:\n    " + run
+    )
diff --git a/tests/test_testpaths_webconsole_coverage.py b/tests/test_testpaths_webconsole_coverage.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..04443d07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_testpaths_webconsole_coverage.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+# Copyright (C) 2026 MessageFoundry Organization and contributors
+"""The default pytest gate must collect the web console package, not silently exclude it.
+
+BACKLOG #1027: `testpaths = ["tests"]` made a bare `pytest -q` from the repo root skip the
+~344 tests under ``packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests`` while the green summary line
+looked complete. This guard reads the root ``pyproject.toml`` and fails if the console tree is
+ever dropped from ``testpaths`` again — it lives under ``tests/`` on purpose, so the very
+narrowing it guards against can never exclude the guard itself.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import tomllib
+from pathlib import Path
+
+_REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+_WEBCONSOLE_TESTS = "packaging/messagefoundry-webconsole/tests"
+
+
+def test_default_testpaths_collect_the_webconsole_package() -> None:
+    pyproject = _REPO_ROOT / "pyproject.toml"
+    data = tomllib.loads(pyproject.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    testpaths = data["tool"]["pytest"]["ini_options"]["testpaths"]
+
+    assert testpaths[0] == "tests", (
+        f"the engine suite must stay first in testpaths, got {testpaths!r}"
+    )
+    assert _WEBCONSOLE_TESTS in testpaths, (
+        f"the web console package tests must be in testpaths so a default pytest run "
+        f"collects them (BACKLOG #1027), got {testpaths!r}"
+    )
+    assert (_REPO_ROOT / _WEBCONSOLE_TESTS).is_dir(), (
+        f"testpaths names {_WEBCONSOLE_TESTS!r} but that directory does not exist"
+    )