diff --git a/docs/consumer-validation-status.md b/docs/consumer-validation-status.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c4b2dce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/consumer-validation-status.md
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+# Consumer validation status
+
+Last validated: 2026-08-07
+
+This is an internal readiness ledger for the #239 adoption work. It records
+what can be reproduced from the current local checkouts; it is not a public
+adoption claim. Independent users belong in the permissioned
+[validation register](who-uses-base-bash.md) only after a downstream owner
+has approved publication.
+
+## Framework reference
+
+The validation below used the `base-bash-libs` source checkout at
+`240494088bf362d3055765818e22b152425b15af` (the `main` tip before this
+ledger was added). The checkout reports version `2.0.0`, but there is not yet
+a published v2 RC, GA tag, or release asset. Results therefore describe
+pre-release source validation, not support for an immutable v2 release.
+
+## Consumer matrix
+
+| Checkout | Relationship | Reference | Deployment exercised | Result | Classification |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| Base | First-party direct consumer | `3aa5934` | Sibling source checkout | Full `base-test`: **944 passed, 1 skipped** | Pass; useful readiness evidence, not independent adoption evidence |
+| Base Demo | First-party representative consumer | `f48bee9` | Source checkout | Targeted BATS suite: **46 passed**. Full validation is blocked by Gradle's missing macOS arm64 `libnative-platform.dylib`. | Partial; environment limitation, not attributed to `base-bash-libs` |
+| BankBuddy | Adjacent repository; no direct `base-bash-libs` reference | `e32561c` | None | Repository validation: **312 passed** | Excluded from the consumer count |
+| BanyanLabs | Adjacent repository; no direct `base-bash-libs` reference | `15ef6cd` | None | Repository baseline present | Excluded from the consumer count |
+
+The Base and Base Demo checkouts are controlled by the primary author. They
+are valuable first-party regression signals, but they do not satisfy the
+independent-consumer acceptance criterion.
+
+## Deployment and upgrade coverage
+
+The framework's own contract tests cover source, generated, vendored, and
+standalone bundle/project-kit layouts. No independent production consumer has
+yet supplied a reproducible run covering installed, vendored, and bundled
+deployments together.
+
+An RC-to-GA (or later v2) upgrade and rollback cannot be validated until an
+immutable v2 RC and GA/replacement asset exist. That release prerequisite is
+tracked by [#240](https://github.com/basefoundry/base-bash-libs/issues/240)
+and [#215](https://github.com/basefoundry/base-bash-libs/issues/215).
+
+## Findings and limitations
+
+- The current Base full suite found no new `base-bash-libs` API or behavior
+  finding.
+- The Base Demo Gradle failure is recorded as an environment limitation for
+  this run. It should not be presented as a framework defect without a
+  compatible Gradle/native-platform reproduction.
+- There are no permissioned public users or case studies yet, so
+  `docs/who-uses-base-bash.md` intentionally remains empty.
+- The framework's community foundation (Code of Conduct, public roadmap,
+  issue forms, contribution guidance, and validation template) is in place;
+  a second maintainer and recurring external review are not yet established.
+
+## Remaining #239 gates
+
+The issue remains open for the work that requires real external participation:
+
+1. Recruit 3–5 external design partners and validate at least three
+   production applications not controlled by the primary author.
+2. Capture installed, vendored, and bundled deployment results plus an
+   immutable v2 RC-to-GA (or later v2) upgrade/rollback.
+3. Link every externally reported security, compatibility, performance,
+   usability, and documentation finding to a resolved issue or an explicitly
+   accepted limitation.
+4. Publish a permissioned case study or durable downstream compatibility
+   fixture and record the outcome in the validation register.
+5. Establish ongoing review and maintenance by at least one contributor beyond
+   the original author.
+
diff --git a/docs/independent-validation.md b/docs/independent-validation.md
index 7f29f93..ab24b33 100644
--- a/docs/independent-validation.md
+++ b/docs/independent-validation.md
@@ -22,3 +22,7 @@ Follow-up owner and date:
 The minimum evidence is a reproducible command/test log and the exact
 immutable reference. A claim of production use is not accepted from a local
 demo or an internal reference application alone.
+
+The current first-party readiness results are recorded separately in the
+[consumer validation status ledger](consumer-validation-status.md). That
+ledger is intentionally not an independent-consumer claim.
diff --git a/docs/who-uses-base-bash.md b/docs/who-uses-base-bash.md
index e700258..6eb4aa6 100644
--- a/docs/who-uses-base-bash.md
+++ b/docs/who-uses-base-bash.md
@@ -15,3 +15,6 @@ Independent consumers can contribute a durable fixture or a redacted case
 study through the [validation template](independent-validation.md). Findings
 must link to a resolved issue or an explicitly accepted limitation before the
 entry is published.
+
+For current first-party readiness evidence and known gaps, see the [consumer
+validation status ledger](consumer-validation-status.md).
diff --git a/tests/community-contract.sh b/tests/community-contract.sh
index 24985db..cb6fad1 100755
--- a/tests/community-contract.sh
+++ b/tests/community-contract.sh
@@ -4,14 +4,18 @@ repo_root="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd -P)" || exit 1
 cd "$repo_root" || exit 1
 
 for file in CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md ROADMAP.md docs/community.md docs/who-uses-base-bash.md \
-  docs/independent-validation.md .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug.yml \
-  .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature.yml .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/documentation.yml \
-  .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml; do
-  [[ -f "$file" ]] || { printf 'Missing community artifact: %s\n' "$file" >&2; exit 1; }
+    docs/independent-validation.md docs/consumer-validation-status.md \
+    .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug.yml \
+    .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature.yml .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/documentation.yml \
+    .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml; do
+    [[ -f "$file" ]] || {
+        printf 'Missing community artifact: %s\n' "$file" >&2
+        exit 1
+    }
 done
 
-grep -F 'SECURITY.md' docs/community.md >/dev/null || exit 1
-grep -F 'No public entries yet.' docs/who-uses-base-bash.md >/dev/null || exit 1
-grep -F 'public fork' CONTRIBUTING.md >/dev/null || exit 1
+grep -F 'SECURITY.md' docs/community.md > /dev/null || exit 1
+grep -F 'No public entries yet.' docs/who-uses-base-bash.md > /dev/null || exit 1
+grep -F 'public fork' CONTRIBUTING.md > /dev/null || exit 1
 
 printf 'Community contract passed; no independent users are claimed yet.\n'