diff --git a/packages/extension/PICCOLISSIMO_INTEGRATION.md b/packages/extension/PICCOLISSIMO_INTEGRATION.md
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+# Amicode → Piccolissimo (beta target)
+
+Amicode's beta will run solves through **Piccolissimo** (the Harmoniqs commercial
+stack: Piccolissimo + Altissimo), not raw Piccolo. Piccolissimo bundles Piccolo
+and adds exact integrators, so "everything Piccolo can do, and more." This doc is
+the running record of what's verified and what the binary integration still needs.
+
+## Status
+
+- ✅ **Solve template verified** — `templates/solve_template_piccolissimo.jl` runs
+  end-to-end through `amico-run` and converges: single-qubit transmon **X gate**,
+  3-level, **F = 0.99995** in 60 iters (~88 s cold), full run-dir contract +
+  `plot_pulse` frames.
+- ⏳ **Not yet the live default.** `AGENTS.md` + the bundled julia project still
+  point at raw Piccolo (`solve_template.jl`), because a *source* install of
+  Piccolissimo is not distributable (see Altissimo below). The swap happens once
+  the Piccolissimo binary is consumable.
+- 🔭 **Binary distribution is Jack's in-flight work** (Piccolissimo
+  `Build.yml` → tarball → Cloudflare R2 / GitHub release).
+
+## What the template needed (lessons from verification)
+
+1. **Piccolissimo does not reexport Piccolo.** Load **both** (`using Piccolo;
+   using Piccolissimo`). `using Piccolissimo` alone is missing `GATES`,
+   `TransmonSystem`, `SmoothPulseProblem`, `plot_pulse`, …
+2. **Pin the timesteps.** `PiccoloOptions(timesteps_all_equal = true)` is required
+   — with a free Δt the dual infeasibility oscillates and the solve stalls at
+   F≈0.976; pinned, it reaches F≈0.99995. Same lesson as the raw-Piccolo template.
+3. **Piccolo version differs.** Piccolissimo pins **Piccolo 1.10**; the raw
+   template was vetted on **Piccolo 1.19**. The symbols the template uses all
+   exist in 1.10 (`GATES`, `TransmonSystem`, `EmbeddedOperator`,
+   `UnitaryTrajectory`, `ZeroOrderPulse`, `SmoothPulseProblem`, `solve!`,
+   `plot_pulse`, `unitary_rollout`, `unitary_fidelity`, `iso_vec_to_operator`,
+   `get_trajectory`, `Piccolo.Callbacks`).
+
+## Why source isn't distributable (→ binary is the only path)
+
+Piccolissimo's Manifest pins **Altissimo** (the solver) to a local, unregistered
+path dep: `path = "/Users/raghavchari/Altissimo.jl"`, `version 1.0.0-DEV`. An end
+user can't `Pkg.add` Piccolissimo and resolve Altissimo. The prebuilt image,
+which bakes Altissimo in, is the only delivery vehicle.
+
+## Integration contract for the binary (what amicode needs from the build)
+
+The current published artifact (`rel-0.3.0-test1`) is:
+`piccolissimo-pkgimage-0.3.0-x86_64-linux-gnu-julia1.12.6.tar.zst`. For amicode to
+consume it:
+
+1. **It's a `pkgimage`, not a `sysimage`.** It loads by extracting into the Julia
+   depot's compiled cache (`JULIA_DEPOT_PATH`), **not** via `julia --sysimage`.
+   amico-run's existing `--sysimage <path>` flag does **not** apply as-is — wiring
+   a pkgimage means an extract step + depot env, *or* the build also emits a true
+   sysimage we can point `--sysimage` at. (Decide which with Jack.)
+2. **Per-platform builds.** Only `x86_64-linux-gnu` is published today. macOS lab
+   machines need `aarch64-apple-darwin` (the workflow has the matrix entry; the
+   asset just isn't published yet).
+3. **Julia version must match.** The pkgimage is tied to **julia 1.12.6**; amicode
+   must ship/require exactly that Julia. (Dev machine here is 1.12.3 — mismatch.)
+4. **CairoMakie is not in Piccolissimo's deps.** The pkgimage won't accelerate
+   `plot_pulse` — the ~35 s Makie first-plot JIT remains. If amicode wants fast
+   plotting too, **CairoMakie must be baked into the amicode image** (or we accept
+   the one-time plot warm-up).
+5. **License gate.** `Piccolissimo.validate_license()` (checks
+   `PICCOLISSIMO_LICENSE` / `~/.config|Library/.../license.key` against a Harmoniqs
+   server) is currently **commented out** in `__init__`, with the note
+   *"re-enable once binaries are deployed."* When it turns on, amicode provisioning
+   (β.4 install.sh / healthcheck) must supply `PICCOLISSIMO_LICENSE` the same way
+   it handles Bedrock creds.
+
+## When the binary lands — the amicode swap
+
+1. Point `AGENTS.md` (template ref) at `solve_template_piccolissimo.jl`.
+2. Bundle/provision a Piccolissimo julia project (or rely on the pkgimage depot).
+3. Wire the pkgimage load path in amico-run / install.sh (per contract #1).
+4. Add `PICCOLISSIMO_LICENSE` to provisioning + healthcheck (per contract #5).
+
+## Local verification recipe (reproduces F=0.99995)
+
+Requires the local commercial stack checked out (`~/Piccolissimo.jl`,
+`~/Altissimo.jl`) with the license gate disabled (current state).
+
+```julia
+using Pkg
+Pkg.activate("/tmp/amicode-pcl-env")
+Pkg.develop(path="/Users/raghavchari/Altissimo.jl")      # unregistered path dep
+Pkg.develop(path="/Users/raghavchari/Piccolissimo.jl")
+Pkg.add("Piccolo"); Pkg.add("CairoMakie"); Pkg.add("JLD2")
+Pkg.instantiate()
+```
+
+```sh
+node packages/amico-run/dist/amico-run.js \
+  packages/extension/templates/solve_template_piccolissimo.jl \
+  --project /tmp/amicode-pcl-env --runs-root /tmp/pcl-runs
+# → AMICODE_FINISHED status=completed exitCode=0, result.toml fidelity = 0.99995
+```
diff --git a/packages/extension/templates/solve_template_piccolissimo.jl b/packages/extension/templates/solve_template_piccolissimo.jl
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+#!/usr/bin/env julia
+# Amicode solve template — PICCOLISSIMO variant.
+#
+# Single-qubit transmon X gate, solved with Piccolissimo's exact-propagation
+# `HermitianExponentialIntegrator`. This is the amicode-beta target (we move the
+# stack onto Piccolissimo), held parallel to `solve_template.jl` until the
+# Piccolissimo binary is consumable — see PICCOLISSIMO_INTEGRATION.md.
+#
+# Verified end-to-end through amico-run against a local Piccolissimo checkout
+# (Piccolo 1.10 + Piccolissimo + CairoMakie, julia 1.12.3): X gate on a 3-level
+# transmon converges to subspace fidelity F = 0.99995 in 60 iters (~88s cold).
+#
+# Two things differ from the raw-Piccolo template:
+#   1. Piccolissimo does NOT reexport Piccolo → load BOTH.
+#   2. The exact `HermitianExponentialIntegrator` replaces the default integrator.
+# Everything else (run-dir contract, plot_pulse frames) is identical.
+using Piccolo
+using Piccolissimo
+using CairoMakie
+using JLD2
+using TOML
+using Printf
+
+# ── FILL IN ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+δ          = 0.2        # anharmonicity (GHz, positive convention)
+levels     = 3          # transmon levels (3 = qubit + 1 leakage; 4 for more realism)
+gate       = GATES[:X]
+T          = 10.0       # gate time (ns)
+N          = 50         # timesteps
+drive_max  = 0.2        # per-quadrature drive bound (GHz)
+max_iter   = 60
+# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+sys = TransmonSystem(; δ = δ, levels = levels, drive_bounds = fill(drive_max, 2))
+op  = size(gate, 1) == sys.levels ? gate : EmbeddedOperator(gate, sys)
+
+times   = collect(range(0.0, T, length = N))
+initial = 0.1 * randn(sys.n_drives, N)
+qtraj = UnitaryTrajectory(sys, ZeroOrderPulse(initial, times), op)
+
+# Piccolissimo's exact propagator: eigendecomposition + analytic Jacobians.
+integrator = HermitianExponentialIntegrator(qtraj, N)
+qcp = SmoothPulseProblem(qtraj, N; integrator = integrator,
+    # Fix the timesteps. With a free Δt the dual infeasibility oscillates and the
+    # solve stalls at F≈0.976; pinning it converges to F≈0.99995. (Same lesson as
+    # the raw-Piccolo template — don't drop this when swapping the integrator.)
+    piccolo_options = PiccoloOptions(timesteps_all_equal = true),
+    Q = 100.0, R = 1e-2)
+prob = hasproperty(qcp, :prob) ? qcp.prob : qcp
+
+# Per-iter callbacks via Piccolo's public `Callbacks` module.
+const CB = Piccolo.Callbacks
+const PLOT_EVERY = 6    # plot every 6 iters (live frames for the inspector)
+iters = Ref(0)
+function cb_log(optimizer, st; kwargs...)
+    k = Int(st.iter_count); iters[] = k
+    @printf("AMICODE_ITER iter=%d f=%.6e inf_pr=%.3e inf_du=%.3e\n", k, st.obj_value, st.inf_pr, st.inf_du)
+    flush(stdout)
+    (k > 0 && k % PLOT_EVERY == 0) && save_control_plot(k)   # skip iter-0 (random init; defers Makie's first compile)
+    return true
+end
+
+# Per-iter pulse plot via Piccolo's canonical `plot_pulse` (Makie). Returns a
+# Figure we save as the run-dir frame. NOTE: Piccolissimo's deps do not include
+# CairoMakie, so under a Piccolissimo pkgimage this first call still JIT-compiles
+# Makie (~35s) unless CairoMakie is baked into the image — see the integration doc.
+function save_control_plot(k::Int)
+    try
+        fig = plot_pulse(qcp; bounds = true, title = @sprintf("iter %d", k))
+        CairoMakie.save(@sprintf("iter_%04d.png", k), fig)
+    catch e
+        @warn "iter plot failed" exception = e   # never let plotting kill the solve
+    end
+end
+
+t0 = time()
+solve!(qcp; max_iter = max_iter, print_level = 1,
+       callback = CB.callback_factory(CB.callback_update_trajectory_factory(prob), cb_log))
+wall = time() - t0
+
+# Subspace fidelity from a fresh rollout (see solve_template.jl for the rationale).
+Uroll = iso_vec_to_operator(unitary_rollout(get_trajectory(qcp), sys)[:, end])
+fid   = unitary_fidelity(Uroll, op.operator; subspace = op.subspace)
+
+isfile(@sprintf("iter_%04d.png", iters[])) || save_control_plot(iters[])
+
+JLD2.save("pulse.jld2", "traj", prob.trajectory)   # key "traj" for load_traj (warm-start)
+open("result.toml.tmp", "w") do io
+    TOML.print(io, Dict(
+        "fidelity" => fid, "iterations" => iters[], "wall_seconds" => wall,
+        "params" => Dict("delta" => δ, "levels" => levels, "T" => T, "N" => N,
+                         "drive_max" => drive_max, "max_iter" => max_iter),
+    ))
+end
+mv("result.toml.tmp", "result.toml"; force = true)
+println("DONE fidelity=$(fid)"); flush(stdout)