diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 123c5e591e..0ff13a4f41 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -642,6 +642,21 @@ jobs:
         continue-on-error: true
         run: scripts/check-killswitch-hoist.sh
 
+      # A plugin hooks.json takes an optional top-level `description`, the one
+      # place a plugin labels its hooks as a set (the plugins reference, hooks
+      # component). The 2026-09-04 hooks-reference audit found it absent in 20
+      # of 20 plugins; #3727 and #3750 added it everywhere, and nothing else
+      # reads the field, so nothing else would notice a new plugin shipping
+      # without it (#3752). Self-test first so a broken detector cannot mask a
+      # regression.
+      - name: Test the hooks-description gate
+        if: needs.changes.outputs.run_shell == 'true'
+        run: bash scripts/check-hooks-description.test.sh
+      - name: Check every plugin hooks.json carries a top-level description
+        id: hooks_description
+        continue-on-error: true
+        run: scripts/check-hooks-description.sh
+
       # Three separate readers judge `metadata.summary`, and they can drift
       # apart: a malformed value reached CI twice in #3162, failing in opposite
       # directions, each time after clearing the local check meant to catch it.
@@ -1174,6 +1189,7 @@ jobs:
             userconfig-argv=${{ steps.userconfig_argv.outcome }}
             hook-exec-form=${{ steps.hook_exec_form.outcome }}
             killswitch-hoist=${{ steps.killswitch_hoist.outcome }}
+            hooks-description=${{ steps.hooks_description.outcome }}
             summary-reader-parity=${{ steps.summary_reader_parity.outcome }}
             plugin-options-docs=${{ steps.plugin_options_docs.outcome }}
             silent-skips=${{ steps.silent_skips.outcome }}
diff --git a/scripts/check-hooks-description.sh b/scripts/check-hooks-description.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..50f78480d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/check-hooks-description.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Gate: every plugin hooks.json carries a top-level `description`.
+#
+#   scripts/check-hooks-description.sh    fail on any plugins/*/hooks/hooks.json
+#                                         whose top-level `description` is
+#                                         absent, not a string, blank, or
+#                                         multi-line
+#
+# Why: the plugins reference states "Define plugin hooks in `hooks/hooks.json`
+# with an optional top-level `description` field" (raw `plugins-reference.md`,
+# fetched 2026-09-05), and the field is the one place a plugin can label its
+# hooks as a set, distinct from the per-handler `statusMessage` shown while a
+# hook runs. The 2026-09-04 hooks-reference audit found the field absent in 20
+# of 20 plugins (#3752); #3727 and #3750 added it to every file. Nothing else
+# reads the field, so nothing else would notice a new plugin shipping without
+# it, or a rewrite dropping it: this gate is what keeps 20 of 20 from drifting
+# back to 19.
+#
+# The rule: `plugins/*/hooks/hooks.json` is scanned; a plugin with no such file
+# has no hooks to label and is skipped. The file must parse as JSON and its
+# top-level `description` must be a string with at least one non-blank
+# character and no line break. Wording is not judged here; the field is a one
+# sentence label, and a reviewer reads it in the diff.
+#
+# Basis: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins-reference (the hooks component,
+# "with an optional top-level `description` field"). Recheck trigger: the
+# reference renames, removes, or makes the field required; either way this
+# comment and the rule are re-derived from the page, not patched from memory.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.."
+
+if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "check-hooks-description: jq is required but not installed" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+errors=0
+scanned=0
+
+flag() {
+  local file="$1" reason="$2"
+  echo "HOOKS DESCRIPTION: ${file}: ${reason}" >&2
+  errors=$((errors + 1))
+}
+
+# Classify one file's top-level description. jq prints one word per JSON
+# document it reads:
+#   missing | notstring | blank | multiline | ok
+# CRLF line endings in a Git Bash checkout sit between tokens, where jq
+# treats them as whitespace; a line break INSIDE the value can only be an
+# escaped one the author wrote.
+#
+# jq's exit status is checked SEPARATELY from its output: a file whose first
+# document is well-formed but which carries trailing garbage makes jq print a
+# verdict for the document and then exit non-zero on the garbage, so output
+# alone would clear a file Claude Code cannot load. Only a zero exit with
+# exactly one verdict word counts as parsed.
+CLASSIFY_PROG='
+  if has("description") | not then "missing"
+  elif (.description | type) != "string" then "notstring"
+  elif (.description | test("[\n\r]")) then "multiline"
+  elif (.description | gsub("^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$"; "") | length) == 0 then "blank"
+  else "ok" end'
+
+for file in plugins/*/hooks/hooks.json; do
+  [[ -f "$file" ]] || continue
+  scanned=$((scanned + 1))
+  rc=0
+  verdict="$(jq -r "$CLASSIFY_PROG" "$file" 2>/dev/null)" || rc=$?
+  if ((rc != 0)) || [[ -z "$verdict" || "$verdict" == *$'\n'* ]]; then
+    flag "$file" "not parseable as JSON, so this gate cannot clear it"
+    continue
+  fi
+  case "$verdict" in
+  ok) ;;
+  missing) flag "$file" "no top-level \"description\"; add a one-sentence label for what this plugin's hooks do and on which events" ;;
+  notstring) flag "$file" "top-level \"description\" is not a string" ;;
+  blank) flag "$file" "top-level \"description\" is blank" ;;
+  multiline) flag "$file" "top-level \"description\" spans more than one line; keep it to one sentence" ;;
+  *) flag "$file" "unexpected verdict \"$verdict\"" ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if ((errors > 0)); then
+  echo "check-hooks-description: ${errors} problem(s) across ${scanned} hooks.json file(s)." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+echo "Every plugin hooks.json (${scanned}) carries a one-line top-level description."
diff --git a/scripts/check-hooks-description.test.sh b/scripts/check-hooks-description.test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..f338f9215d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/check-hooks-description.test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Tests for scripts/check-hooks-description.sh: a fixture tree per case so the
+# verdict is on the shape under test and nothing else, then the live tree.
+set -uo pipefail
+
+SELF_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+SCRIPT="$SELF_DIR/check-hooks-description.sh"
+
+# shellcheck source=lib/test-harness.sh
+. "$SELF_DIR/lib/test-harness.sh"
+
+new_fixture() {
+  local dir
+  dir="$(mktemp -d)"
+  mkdir -p "$dir/scripts" "$dir/plugins"
+  cp "$SCRIPT" "$dir/scripts/check-hooks-description.sh"
+  chmod +x "$dir/scripts/check-hooks-description.sh"
+  printf '%s' "$dir"
+}
+
+hooks_file() { # <fixture> <plugin> <content>
+  mkdir -p "$1/plugins/$2/hooks"
+  printf '%s\n' "$3" >"$1/plugins/$2/hooks/hooks.json"
+}
+
+run_check() (
+  cd "$1" && bash scripts/check-hooks-description.sh
+)
+
+LABELED='{"description":"Formats Go source and its imports after a write or edit.","hooks":{"PostToolUse":[{"matcher":"Write|Edit","hooks":[{"type":"command","command":"x"}]}]}}'
+UNLABELED='{"hooks":{"PostToolUse":[{"matcher":"Write|Edit","hooks":[{"type":"command","command":"x"}]}]}}'
+
+# --- the shape the gate exists to reject: no description at all --------------
+f="$(new_fixture)"
+hooks_file "$f" alpha "$UNLABELED"
+if out="$(run_check "$f" 2>&1)"; then
+  fail "a hooks.json without a description should fail, got success: $out"
+else
+  if echo "$out" | grep -q 'HOOKS DESCRIPTION: plugins/alpha/hooks/hooks.json: no top-level "description"'; then
+    ok "missing description fails and names the file"
+  else
+    fail "expected the missing-description line naming plugins/alpha, got: $out"
+  fi
+fi
+rm -rf "$f"
+
+# --- a labeled file passes, and a plugin with no hooks dir is skipped --------
+f="$(new_fixture)"
+hooks_file "$f" alpha "$LABELED"
+mkdir -p "$f/plugins/beta/skills/x"
+if out="$(run_check "$f" 2>&1)"; then
+  if echo "$out" | grep -q 'Every plugin hooks.json (1) carries'; then
+    ok "a labeled file passes and a hook-less plugin is not counted"
+  else
+    fail "expected the clean statement counting 1 file, got: $out"
+  fi
+else
+  fail "a labeled hooks.json should pass, got: $out"
+fi
+rm -rf "$f"
+
+# --- the degenerate values a present key can still carry ---------------------
+for case in \
+  'blank|{"description":"","hooks":{}}|is blank' \
+  'whitespace|{"description":"   ","hooks":{}}|is blank' \
+  'number|{"description":7,"hooks":{}}|is not a string' \
+  'null|{"description":null,"hooks":{}}|is not a string' \
+  'multiline|{"description":"Formats Go.\nAnd more.","hooks":{}}|spans more than one line'; do
+  IFS='|' read -r name content expect <<<"$case"
+  f="$(new_fixture)"
+  hooks_file "$f" alpha "$content"
+  if out="$(run_check "$f" 2>&1)"; then
+    fail "$name description should fail, got success: $out"
+  else
+    if echo "$out" | grep -q "HOOKS DESCRIPTION: plugins/alpha/hooks/hooks.json: .*$expect"; then
+      ok "$name description fails with the right reason"
+    else
+      fail "$name description: expected '$expect' in the output, got: $out"
+    fi
+  fi
+  rm -rf "$f"
+done
+
+# --- a CRLF checkout (Git Bash) does not read as multi-line -----------------
+f="$(new_fixture)"
+mkdir -p "$f/plugins/alpha/hooks"
+printf '{\r\n  "description": "Formats Go source.",\r\n  "hooks": {}\r\n}\r\n' >"$f/plugins/alpha/hooks/hooks.json"
+if run_check "$f" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  ok "CRLF line endings between tokens are tolerated"
+else
+  fail "a CRLF-terminated hooks.json must pass; the line breaks sit outside the value"
+fi
+rm -rf "$f"
+
+# --- every file is named, not only the first -------------------------------
+f="$(new_fixture)"
+hooks_file "$f" alpha "$UNLABELED"
+hooks_file "$f" beta "$LABELED"
+hooks_file "$f" gamma '{"description":"","hooks":{}}'
+out="$(run_check "$f" 2>&1)"
+if echo "$out" | grep -q 'plugins/alpha/hooks/hooks.json' && echo "$out" | grep -q 'plugins/gamma/hooks/hooks.json' && ! echo "$out" | grep -q 'plugins/beta/'; then
+  ok "both failing files are named and the passing one is not"
+else
+  fail "expected alpha and gamma flagged, beta clean, got: $out"
+fi
+if echo "$out" | grep -q '2 problem(s) across 3 hooks.json file(s)'; then
+  ok "the summary counts problems and files"
+else
+  fail "expected '2 problem(s) across 3 hooks.json file(s)', got: $out"
+fi
+rm -rf "$f"
+
+# --- an unparsable file is a failure, never a silent clear -----------------
+f="$(new_fixture)"
+hooks_file "$f" alpha '{"description":"x", "hooks": '
+if out="$(run_check "$f" 2>&1)"; then
+  fail "unparsable hooks.json should fail, got success: $out"
+else
+  if echo "$out" | grep -q 'not parseable as JSON'; then
+    ok "unparsable hooks.json fails closed"
+  else
+    fail "expected the parse-failure line, got: $out"
+  fi
+fi
+rm -rf "$f"
+
+# --- a well-formed document followed by trailing garbage is still a failure --
+# jq prints a verdict for the first document and then exits non-zero on the
+# garbage; the gate must read the status, not only the word (Codex, #3764).
+f="$(new_fixture)"
+hooks_file "$f" alpha '{"description":"Formats Go source.","hooks":{}} trailing'
+if out="$(run_check "$f" 2>&1)"; then
+  fail "trailing garbage after a labeled document should fail, got success: $out"
+else
+  if echo "$out" | grep -q 'not parseable as JSON'; then
+    ok "trailing garbage after a labeled document fails closed"
+  else
+    fail "expected the parse-failure line for trailing garbage, got: $out"
+  fi
+fi
+rm -rf "$f"
+
+# --- two documents in one file is not one hooks.json either -----------------
+f="$(new_fixture)"
+hooks_file "$f" alpha '{"description":"One.","hooks":{}} {"description":"Two.","hooks":{}}'
+if run_check "$f" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  fail "two concatenated documents should fail"
+else
+  ok "two concatenated documents fail closed"
+fi
+rm -rf "$f"
+
+# --- the live tree ----------------------------------------------------------
+if out="$(cd "$SELF_DIR/.." && bash scripts/check-hooks-description.sh 2>&1)"; then
+  ok "the repository's own hooks.json files all carry a description"
+else
+  fail "the live tree fails the gate: $out"
+fi
+
+test_harness::report