@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/metadata-protocol': patch
+---
+
+fix(metadata-protocol): the layered read's code layer is empty for an item no package ships, whether or not a stored copy of it has been loaded into the registry (#21059)
+
+Clause-②: no
+
+The layered read, `GET /api/v1/meta/:type/:name/layers`, reports an item's code layer as the packaged definition, and as empty when no package ships the item and it exists only as a stored customization. For an item no package ships, it answered that correctly only until the stored copy had been loaded into the in-memory registry, for example by a restart's startup load or by a list read. After that, the code layer answered the stored copy, and the lock and provenance flags were derived from it. So the same read of the same item gave two answers, depending on what had been loaded.
+
+The code layer now skips a stored copy the registry holds, using the tenant-authorship mark the startup load already puts on every stored copy it registers. An item no package ships has an empty code layer before and after the load, and its flags come from the stored layer both times. This includes a stored copy whose own content claims a package's provenance: a claim is not a packaged definition. The deprecated layers flag on the by-name read, `GET /api/v1/meta/:type/:name`, answers the same.
+
+Packaged items keep their packaged code layer. An item registered at runtime with no package keeps its code layer, as before. The stored rows are not changed.
@@ -0,0 +1,336 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+
+/**
+ * [#21059] The layered read's code layer is the packaged artifact, or an item
+ * registered at runtime with no package — never a stored row that a hydration
+ * put in the registry's plain slot. For a name no package ships, the read
+ * answers a null code layer before a hydration and after it alike.
+ *
+ * The spec's layer 1 reads "`null` when no artifact ships this item (it exists
+ * only as an overlay)", and the method's own #5707 / #5840 rule allows a layer
+ * only from a read that happened. The fallback below the artifact lookup reads
+ * the registry's plain slot, which it does for items registered at runtime
+ * without a package; a hydrated stored row lands in that same slot. So once a
+ * hydration had run, the code layer was the stored body and the lock flags were
+ * resolved from it, while the same read before the hydration answered a null
+ * code layer. The discriminator is the tenant marker the hydrator already
+ * writes on every row it registers; nothing new is stamped.
+ *
+ * Triage's ruling on the open corner is pinned as well: a stored body that
+ * carries package-provenance stamps under a name no package ships is not a code
+ * layer either, so the lock-state resolver sees no code layer for it and its
+ * flags are the same before and after a hydration.
+ *
+ * The registry double is the one `protocol.flow-layered-shipped-name.test.ts`
+ * uses: the real `SchemaRegistry`'s key shapes (`<package>:<name>` for a loader
+ * entry, the bare name for everything else), its `getItem` precedence (the bare
+ * slot first) and its artifact lookup. `registerItem` stamps a package entry the
+ * way `applyProtection` does and leaves a bare registration alone.
+ * `@objectstack/objectql` cannot be imported here: it depends on this package.
+ * The cold-boot proof over the real composition is
+ * `packages/qa/dogfood/test/flow-unshipped-name-layered-code.dogfood.test.ts`.
+ *
+ * Controls: a shipped name keeps the loader's body as its code layer on both
+ * sides of a hydration, and an item registered at runtime with no package keeps
+ * its code layer — the fallback's stated purpose.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { assertEngineFindOnePredicate, isCodeArtifactBody } from '@objectstack/metadata-core';
+import { ObjectStackProtocolImplementation } from './protocol.js';
+
+const PACKAGE_ID = 'com.example.pkg';
+const SHIPPED = 'pkg_flow';
+const UNSHIPPED = 'customer_flow';
+const STAMPED = 'stamped_flow';
+const RUNTIME = 'runtime_flow';
+const UNSHIPPED_VIEW = 'customer_view';
+
+const flowBody = (name: string, label: string, extra: Record<string, unknown> = {}) => ({
+    name,
+    label,
+    type: 'autolaunched',
+    nodes: [
+        { id: 'start', type: 'start', label: 'Start' },
+        { id: 'end', type: 'end', label: 'End' },
+    ],
+    edges: [{ id: 'e1', source: 'start', target: 'end' }],
+    ...extra,
+});
+
+/** A body that claims a package's provenance under a name that package does not ship. */
+const stampedBody = (name: string) => flowBody(name, 'STAMPED', {
+    _packageId: PACKAGE_ID,
+    _packageVersion: '1.0.0',
+    _provenance: 'package',
+});
+
+interface StoredRow {
+    id: string;
+    type: string;
+    name: string;
+    organization_id: string | null;
+    package_id: string | null;
+    state: string;
+    metadata: string;
+}
+
+const storedRow = (type: string, name: string, body: unknown, extra: Partial<StoredRow> = {}): StoredRow => ({
+    id: `r_${type}_${name}_${extra.organization_id ?? 'env'}`,
+    type,
+    name,
+    organization_id: null,
+    package_id: null,
+    state: 'active',
+    metadata: JSON.stringify(body),
+    ...extra,
+});
+
+/** The registry double — see the header. */
+function registryDouble() {
+    const byType = new Map<string, Map<string, Record<string, unknown>>>();
+    const collection = (type: string) => {
+        if (!byType.has(type)) byType.set(type, new Map());
+        return byType.get(type)!;
+    };
+    return {
+        registerItem(type: string, item: Record<string, unknown>, keyField = 'name', packageId?: string) {
+            const name = String(item[keyField]);
+            if (packageId) {
+                if (item._packageId === undefined) item._packageId = packageId;
+                if (item._provenance === undefined) item._provenance = 'package';
+                collection(type).set(`${packageId}:${name}`, item);
+            } else {
+                collection(type).set(name, item);
+            }
+        },
+        listItems(type: string, packageId?: string) {
+            const all = [...(byType.get(type)?.values() ?? [])];
+            return packageId ? all.filter((it) => it._packageId === packageId) : all;
+        },
+        /** The real precedence: the bare slot, then prefer-local, then the first composite. */
+        getItem(type: string, name: string, packageId?: string) {
+            const entries = byType.get(type);
+            if (!entries) return undefined;
+            const direct = entries.get(name);
+            if (direct) return direct;
+            if (packageId) {
+                const local = entries.get(`${packageId}:${name}`);
+                if (local) return local;
+            }
+            for (const [key, item] of entries) if (key.endsWith(`:${name}`)) return item;
+            return undefined;
+        },
+        getArtifactItem(type: string, name: string, packageId?: string) {
+            const entries = [...(byType.get(type)?.entries() ?? [])];
+            const scoped = entries.filter(([key, it]) => key.endsWith(`:${name}`) && isCodeArtifactBody(it));
+            const local = packageId ? scoped.find(([, it]) => it._packageId === packageId) : undefined;
+            if (local) return local[1];
+            if (scoped[0]) return scoped[0][1];
+            const bare = byType.get(type)?.get(name);
+            return bare && isCodeArtifactBody(bare) && (!packageId || bare._packageId === packageId) ? bare : undefined;
+        },
+        bare(type: string, name: string) {
+            return byType.get(type)?.get(name);
+        },
+        getObject: () => undefined,
+        registerObject: () => undefined,
+        getPackage: () => undefined,
+        isPackageDisabled: () => false,
+        applyNavContributions: (app: unknown) => app,
+    };
+}
+
+/**
+ * The engine double: `find` / `findOne` over `sys_metadata` rows, plus the
+ * registry. ⛔ No `insert` / `update` / `delete` — the paths under test (the
+ * layered read and the two hydrations) issue no write verb.
+ */
+function harness(rows: StoredRow[]) {
+    const registry = registryDouble();
+    // What the loader registered: one packaged flow.
+    registry.registerItem('flow', flowBody(SHIPPED, 'LOADER'), 'name', PACKAGE_ID);
+    const matching = (where: Record<string, unknown>) => {
+        for (const k of Object.keys(where)) {
+            if (k.startsWith('$')) throw new Error(`[test double] unsupported WHERE combinator '${k}'`);
+        }
+        return rows.filter((r) =>
+            Object.entries(where).every(([k, v]) => v === undefined || (r as unknown as Record<string, unknown>)[k] === v),
+        );
+    };
+    const engine: any = {
+        async find(table: string, opts?: { where?: Record<string, unknown>; limit?: number }) {
+            if (table !== 'sys_metadata') return [];
+            const matched = matching(opts?.where ?? {});
+            // `check:objectql-double-limit` — the caller's bound, applied after the filter.
+            return opts?.limit === undefined ? matched : matched.slice(0, opts.limit);
+        },
+        async findOne(table: string, opts?: { where?: Record<string, unknown> }) {
+            // `check:engine-double-contract` — refuses what the real engine refuses.
+            assertEngineFindOnePredicate(table, opts);
+            if (table !== 'sys_metadata') return null;
+            return matching(opts?.where ?? {})[0] ?? null;
+        },
+        registry,
+    };
+    const protocol = new ObjectStackProtocolImplementation(engine, () => new Map());
+    return { protocol, registry };
+}
+
+type Layer = Record<string, unknown> & { label?: unknown };
+interface LayeredAnswer {
+    code: Layer | null;
+    overlay: Layer | null;
+    overlayScope: 'org' | 'env' | null;
+    effective: Layer | null;
+    lock: string;
+    lockSource?: string;
+    provenance?: string;
+    packageId?: string;
+    packageVersion?: string;
+    editable: boolean;
+    deletable: boolean;
+    resettable: boolean;
+}
+
+const layered = async (protocol: ObjectStackProtocolImplementation, request: Record<string, unknown>) =>
+    (await protocol.getMetaItemLayered(request as any)) as unknown as LayeredAnswer;
+
+/** The ADR-0010 protection flags the response derives from its layers. */
+const flagsOf = (answer: LayeredAnswer) => ({
+    lock: answer.lock,
+    lockSource: answer.lockSource,
+    provenance: answer.provenance,
+    packageId: answer.packageId,
+    packageVersion: answer.packageVersion,
+    editable: answer.editable,
+    deletable: answer.deletable,
+    resettable: answer.resettable,
+});
+
+/** Boot hydration: the stored rows go into the registry, as on a cold boot. */
+async function bootHydrate(protocol: ObjectStackProtocolImplementation) {
+    const receipt = await protocol.loadMetaFromDb();
+    expect(receipt.storeUnavailable).toBe(false);
+    expect(receipt.errors).toBe(0);
+    return receipt;
+}
+
+describe('[#21059] the layered read answers a null code layer for a name no package ships, before and after hydration', () => {
+    it('an unshipped flow name: null before boot hydration and null after it, with the stored row reported as the stored layer', async () => {
+        const { protocol, registry } = harness([storedRow('flow', UNSHIPPED, flowBody(UNSHIPPED, 'STORED'))]);
+
+        const before = await layered(protocol, { type: 'flow', name: UNSHIPPED });
+        expect(registry.bare('flow', UNSHIPPED)).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(before.code).toBeNull();
+        expect(before.overlay?.label).toBe('STORED');
+
+        await bootHydrate(protocol);
+        // The hydration really ran: the row now sits in the registry's plain slot.
+        expect(registry.bare('flow', UNSHIPPED)?.label).toBe('STORED');
+
+        const after = await layered(protocol, { type: 'flow', name: UNSHIPPED });
+        expect(after.code).toBeNull();
+        expect(after.overlay?.label).toBe('STORED');
+        expect(after.overlayScope).toBe('env');
+        expect(after.effective?.label).toBe('STORED');
+        expect(flagsOf(after)).toEqual(flagsOf(before));
+    });
+
+    it('the read-side hydration is held the same way', async () => {
+        const { protocol, registry } = harness([storedRow('flow', UNSHIPPED, flowBody(UNSHIPPED, 'STORED'))]);
+        await protocol.getMetaItemsForExecution({ type: 'flow' });
+        expect(registry.bare('flow', UNSHIPPED)?.label).toBe('STORED');
+
+        const after = await layered(protocol, { type: 'flow', name: UNSHIPPED });
+
+        expect(after.code).toBeNull();
+        expect(after.effective?.label).toBe('STORED');
+    });
+
+    it('the package-scoped read and the plural type spelling answer the same', async () => {
+        for (const request of [
+            { type: 'flow', name: UNSHIPPED, packageId: PACKAGE_ID },
+            { type: 'flows', name: UNSHIPPED },
+        ]) {
+            const { protocol } = harness([storedRow('flow', UNSHIPPED, flowBody(UNSHIPPED, 'STORED'))]);
+            await bootHydrate(protocol);
+            const after = await layered(protocol, request);
+            expect(after.code).toBeNull();
+            expect(after.overlay?.label).toBe('STORED');
+        }
+    });
+
+    it('a stored body carrying package-provenance stamps under an unshipped name is no code layer, and the lock-state flags do not move across hydration', async () => {
+        for (const row of [
+            storedRow('flow', STAMPED, stampedBody(STAMPED)),
+            storedRow('flow', STAMPED, stampedBody(STAMPED), { package_id: PACKAGE_ID }),
+        ]) {
+            const { protocol, registry } = harness([row]);
+
+            const before = await layered(protocol, { type: 'flow', name: STAMPED });
+            expect(before.code).toBeNull();
+
+            await bootHydrate(protocol);
+            expect(registry.bare('flow', STAMPED)?.label).toBe('STAMPED');
+
+            for (const request of [
+                { type: 'flow', name: STAMPED },
+                { type: 'flow', name: STAMPED, packageId: PACKAGE_ID },
+            ]) {
+                const after = await layered(protocol, request);
+                expect(after.code).toBeNull();
+                expect(after.overlay?.label).toBe('STAMPED');
+                expect(flagsOf(after)).toEqual(flagsOf(before));
+            }
+        }
+    });
+
+    it('not a flow-only rule: an unshipped view\'s hydrated row is no code layer either', async () => {
+        const { protocol, registry } = harness([
+            storedRow('view', UNSHIPPED_VIEW, { name: UNSHIPPED_VIEW, label: 'STORED VIEW' }),
+        ]);
+
+        const before = await layered(protocol, { type: 'view', name: UNSHIPPED_VIEW });
+        expect(before.code).toBeNull();
+
+        await bootHydrate(protocol);
+        expect(registry.bare('view', UNSHIPPED_VIEW)?.label).toBe('STORED VIEW');
+
+        const after = await layered(protocol, { type: 'view', name: UNSHIPPED_VIEW });
+        expect(after.code).toBeNull();
+        expect(after.effective?.label).toBe('STORED VIEW');
+        expect(flagsOf(after)).toEqual(flagsOf(before));
+    });
+
+    it('control: a shipped name keeps the loader\'s body as its code layer, before and after hydration', async () => {
+        const { protocol } = harness([storedRow('flow', SHIPPED, flowBody(SHIPPED, 'STORED'))]);
+
+        const before = await layered(protocol, { type: 'flow', name: SHIPPED });
+        expect(before.code?.label).toBe('LOADER');
+
+        await bootHydrate(protocol);
+
+        const after = await layered(protocol, { type: 'flow', name: SHIPPED });
+        expect(after.code?.label).toBe('LOADER');
+        expect(after.overlay?.label).toBe('STORED');
+        expect(after.packageId).toBe(PACKAGE_ID);
+        expect(after.provenance).toBe('package');
+        expect(flagsOf(after)).toEqual(flagsOf(before));
+    });
+
+    it('control: an item registered at runtime with no package keeps its code layer', async () => {
+        const { protocol, registry } = harness([]);
+        registry.registerItem('flow', flowBody(RUNTIME, 'RUNTIME'));
+
+        const before = await layered(protocol, { type: 'flow', name: RUNTIME });
+        expect(before.code?.label).toBe('RUNTIME');
+        expect(before.overlay).toBeNull();
+        expect(before.effective?.label).toBe('RUNTIME');
+
+        await bootHydrate(protocol);
+
+        const after = await layered(protocol, { type: 'flow', name: RUNTIME });
+        expect(after.code?.label).toBe('RUNTIME');
+        expect(after.effective?.label).toBe('RUNTIME');
+    });
+});