diff --git a/docs/host-setup.md b/docs/host-setup.md
index 04698774..561f9de8 100644
--- a/docs/host-setup.md
+++ b/docs/host-setup.md
@@ -8,7 +8,23 @@ Supported hosts:
 - **macOS** - both the devcontainer flow and the host-install flow.
 - **Windows** - the devcontainer flow requires **WSL2**, and native Windows (PowerShell + winget) is supported only for the host-install flow described in `README.md`. The bind-mounts in `.devcontainer/dotnet/devcontainer.json` and `.devcontainer/python/devcontainer.json` rely on POSIX paths and only work from Linux/macOS/WSL2.
 
-> **Shell assumptions in this doc**: every command snippet below assumes a **POSIX shell** (bash/zsh) and POSIX path conventions (`~/.ssh/...`, `mkdir -p`, `$(...)` command substitution). On Windows, run them from **WSL2** or **Git Bash**, since they will not work as-is in PowerShell or `cmd.exe`. The git config and `gh` commands are portable; only the file/path manipulation differs by shell.
+> **Shell assumptions in this doc**: every command snippet below assumes a **POSIX shell** (bash/zsh) and POSIX path conventions (`~/.ssh/...`, `mkdir -p`, `$(...)` command substitution), with one exception. A block marked `powershell` is the **Windows-native** form of the step it sits in, meant to run in PowerShell rather than translated. On Windows, run the POSIX snippets from **WSL2** or **Git Bash**, since they will not work as-is in PowerShell or `cmd.exe`. The git config and `gh` commands are portable, and only the file and path manipulation differs by shell.
+
+## What a Host Must Provide
+
+This section is the **contract**: which tools a host needs and which repo procedure stops working without each one. It deliberately names no installer, because `winget`, `brew` and `apt` differ per platform while the requirement does not. Per-platform install commands are tracked separately, so this table stays true on every host.
+
+| Tool | Needed by | Present when |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `git` | everything, and the identity and signing contract in [`STANDUP.md`][standup] step 0 | `git --version` |
+| `gh` | the PR and review loop, `gh api` queries, `repo-config/configure.sh` | `gh --version` |
+| `python3` | `scripts/` and `spec/` (standard library only, no packages to install) | `python3 --version` |
+| `docker` | the four linters, which run as pinned images rather than local installs | `docker --version` |
+| `uv` / `uvx` | coverage runs, and the Python toolchain (`ruff`, `pyright` or `mypy`) in a Python repo | `uv --version` |
+
+Two consequences worth reading off the table rather than discovering later. **`python3` needs no packages**, because every script here is standard library only, so a bare interpreter is enough. And **the linters need only `docker`**, not `node`, `dotnet` or a local `markdownlint`, since each runs as a pinned image, which is what keeps a local run and CI the same check.
+
+A missing tool is a host gap, not a repo problem. Install it and re-run, rather than working around it in a repo.
 
 ## Git Identity
 
@@ -122,9 +138,26 @@ gh auth login --hostname github.com --git-protocol ssh
 
 Choose the SSH key generated above when prompted.
 
+## Agent Write-Safety Kit
+
+Required on any host where an agent runs with the `gh` credentials logged in, and its own README calls it the first thing to deploy on a new system. Install it from this repo, since the installer is idempotent and safe to re-run to update:
+
+```shell
+host-setup/agent-safety/install.sh        # Linux, WSL, macOS, Proxmox
+```
+
+```powershell
+host-setup\agent-safety\install.ps1       # Windows
+```
+
+Both wrap one `install.py`, so every platform runs the same tested path. Restart Claude Code sessions on the machine afterward so the hook and the `CLAUDE.md` block load. Details, verification, and scope limits are in [`host-setup/agent-safety/README.md`][agent-safety].
+
+This is a **host** control, not a repo one. The carried `GOVERNANCE.md` rules reach fleet repos only, while the hook and the `CLAUDE.md` block cover every session on the machine, including ad-hoc work in no project at all, which is where the incident behind the kit happened.
+
 ## Verify Host Setup
 
 ```shell
+git --version && gh --version && python3 --version && docker --version && uv --version
 git config --global --list | grep -E "user\.|signing|gpg\."
 ssh-add -L                                   # should list your public key
 git -c gpg.format=ssh commit -S --allow-empty -m "verify-signing"
@@ -134,6 +167,18 @@ gh auth status
 
 If signing fails locally, the devcontainer will fail too, so fix here first.
 
+**What the host can do once this passes**, which is the point of the contract above:
+
+| Now possible | Because |
+| --- | --- |
+| Stand up a new repo through [`STANDUP.md`][standup] | step 0 verifies identity and signing, and its window closes at the first commit |
+| Run the four linters locally, matching CI | `docker` runs each as the same pinned image CI uses |
+| Run the repo's own gates and tests | `python3` covers `scripts/` and `spec/` with no packages to install |
+| Drive the PR and Copilot review loop | `gh` and an authenticated session |
+| Let an agent work with the `gh` credentials live | the write-safety kit is installed |
+
+A host that fails any row is not ready for the procedure that row names, and the fix belongs on the host rather than in a repo.
+
 ## Next Steps
 
 - [Devcontainer setup][devcontainer]: open the repo in the per-language .NET or Python devcontainer.
@@ -141,6 +186,7 @@ If signing fails locally, the devcontainer will fail too, so fix here first.
 
 <!-- Repo -->
 
+[agent-safety]: ../host-setup/agent-safety/README.md
 [devcontainer]: ./devcontainer.md
 [governance-git-and-commit-rules]: ../GOVERNANCE.md#git-and-commit-rules
 [ssh-signing]: ./ssh-signing.md