diff --git a/auditor/audit.ts b/auditor/audit.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d626373
--- /dev/null
+++ b/auditor/audit.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+// Orchestrator — runs all four checks on a PR, assembles a verdict,
+// posts to Gitea. This is task #8's integration layer; the poller
+// (task #9) calls this once per PR on every fresh head SHA.
+//
+// Hard-block mechanism: commit status posted with state="failure"
+// and context="lakehouse/auditor". If `main` branch protection
+// requires that context to pass, merge is physically impossible
+// until the auditor re-audits a fixed commit and flips the status
+// to "success".
+//
+// Human-readable reasoning: posted as a PR issue comment (not a
+// review — reviews have self-review restrictions on Gitea and the
+// auditor currently uses the same PAT as the PR author).
+
+import { readFile, writeFile, mkdir } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import type { PrSnapshot, Verdict, Finding } from "./types.ts";
+import { getPrDiff, postCommitStatus, postIssueComment } from "./gitea.ts";
+import { parseClaims } from "./claim_parser.ts";
+import { assembleVerdict } from "./policy.ts";
+import { runStaticCheck } from "./checks/static.ts";
+import { runDynamicCheck } from "./checks/dynamic.ts";
+import { runInferenceCheck } from "./checks/inference.ts";
+import { runKbCheck } from "./checks/kb_query.ts";
+
+const VERDICTS_DIR = "/home/profit/lakehouse/data/_auditor/verdicts";
+
+export interface AuditOptions {
+  // Skip the cloud inference call (fast path for iteration). Default false.
+  skip_inference?: boolean;
+  // Skip the dynamic check (avoid running the hybrid fixture every PR,
+  // since it hits live services and mutates playbook state). Default false
+  // on `main`-branch-target PRs, true when auditing feature branches
+  // where the fixture would pollute state. Caller decides.
+  skip_dynamic?: boolean;
+  // Skip Gitea posting — useful for dry-runs / local testing.
+  // Default false.
+  dry_run?: boolean;
+}
+
+export async function auditPr(pr: PrSnapshot, opts: AuditOptions = {}): Promise<Verdict> {
+  const t0 = Date.now();
+  const diff = await getPrDiff(pr.number);
+  const { claims } = parseClaims(pr);
+
+  // Run checks in parallel where they don't share mutable state.
+  // Static + kb_query + inference are all read-only. Dynamic mutates
+  // playbook state (nonce-scoped per run, but still live) so if
+  // skip_dynamic is false we still run it in parallel — the mutation
+  // is namespaced.
+  const [staticFindings, dynamicFindings, inferenceFindings, kbFindings] = await Promise.all([
+    runStaticCheck(diff),
+    opts.skip_dynamic ? Promise.resolve(stubFinding("dynamic", "skipped by options")) : runDynamicCheck(),
+    opts.skip_inference ? Promise.resolve(stubFinding("inference", "skipped by options")) : runInferenceCheck(claims, diff),
+    runKbCheck(claims),
+  ]);
+
+  const allFindings: Finding[] = [
+    ...staticFindings,
+    ...dynamicFindings,
+    ...inferenceFindings,
+    ...kbFindings,
+  ];
+
+  const duration_ms = Date.now() - t0;
+  const metrics = {
+    audit_duration_ms: duration_ms,
+    findings_total: allFindings.length,
+    findings_block: allFindings.filter(f => f.severity === "block").length,
+    findings_warn: allFindings.filter(f => f.severity === "warn").length,
+    findings_info: allFindings.filter(f => f.severity === "info").length,
+    claims_strong: claims.filter(c => c.strength === "strong").length,
+    claims_moderate: claims.filter(c => c.strength === "moderate").length,
+    claims_weak: claims.filter(c => c.strength === "weak").length,
+    claims_total: claims.length,
+    diff_bytes: diff.length,
+  };
+
+  const verdict = assembleVerdict(allFindings, metrics, pr.number, pr.head_sha);
+
+  await persistVerdict(verdict);
+
+  if (!opts.dry_run) {
+    await postToGitea(verdict);
+  }
+
+  return verdict;
+}
+
+async function persistVerdict(v: Verdict): Promise<void> {
+  await mkdir(VERDICTS_DIR, { recursive: true });
+  const filename = `${v.pr_number}-${v.head_sha.slice(0, 12)}.json`;
+  await writeFile(join(VERDICTS_DIR, filename), JSON.stringify(v, null, 2));
+}
+
+export async function postToGitea(v: Verdict): Promise<void> {
+  // 1. Commit status — the hard block signal (if branch protection
+  //    is configured to require lakehouse/auditor on main).
+  const state = v.overall === "approve" ? "success" : "failure";
+  await postCommitStatus({
+    sha: v.head_sha,
+    state,
+    context: "lakehouse/auditor",
+    description: v.one_liner,
+    target_url: "", // no URL yet; could point to a verdicts dashboard
+  });
+
+  // 2. Issue comment — the reasoning. Gated so we don't spam the PR
+  //    with identical comments on re-audits of the same SHA. Caller
+  //    (poller) ensures we only re-audit fresh SHAs, but a dedup
+  //    marker inside the body keeps it idempotent if re-run.
+  const body = formatReviewBody(v);
+  await postIssueComment({ pr_number: v.pr_number, body });
+}
+
+function formatReviewBody(v: Verdict): string {
+  const byCheck: Record<string, Finding[]> = {};
+  for (const f of v.findings) {
+    (byCheck[f.check] ||= []).push(f);
+  }
+
+  const verdictEmoji =
+    v.overall === "approve" ? "✅" :
+    v.overall === "request_changes" ? "⚠️" :
+    "🛑";
+
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  lines.push(`## Auditor verdict: ${verdictEmoji} \`${v.overall}\``);
+  lines.push("");
+  lines.push(`**One-liner:** ${v.one_liner}`);
+  lines.push(`**Head SHA:** \`${v.head_sha.slice(0, 12)}\``);
+  lines.push(`**Audited at:** ${v.audited_at}`);
+  lines.push("");
+
+  // Per-check sections, only if the check produced findings.
+  const checkOrder = ["static", "dynamic", "inference", "kb_query"] as const;
+  for (const check of checkOrder) {
+    const fs = byCheck[check] ?? [];
+    if (fs.length === 0) continue;
+    const bySev = {
+      block: fs.filter(f => f.severity === "block").length,
+      warn: fs.filter(f => f.severity === "warn").length,
+      info: fs.filter(f => f.severity === "info").length,
+    };
+    lines.push(`<details><summary><b>${check}</b> — ${fs.length} findings (${bySev.block} block, ${bySev.warn} warn, ${bySev.info} info)</summary>`);
+    lines.push("");
+    for (const f of fs) {
+      const mark = f.severity === "block" ? "🛑" : f.severity === "warn" ? "⚠️" : "ℹ️";
+      lines.push(`${mark} **${f.severity}** — ${f.summary}`);
+      for (const e of f.evidence.slice(0, 3)) {
+        lines.push(`  - \`${e.slice(0, 180).replace(/\n/g, " ")}\``);
+      }
+    }
+    lines.push("");
+    lines.push("</details>");
+    lines.push("");
+  }
+
+  lines.push("### Metrics");
+  lines.push("```json");
+  lines.push(JSON.stringify(v.metrics, null, 2));
+  lines.push("```");
+  lines.push("");
+  lines.push(`<sub>Lakehouse auditor · SHA ${v.head_sha.slice(0, 8)} · re-audit on new commit flips the status automatically.</sub>`);
+
+  return lines.join("\n");
+}
+
+function stubFinding(check: "dynamic" | "inference", why: string): Finding[] {
+  return [{ check, severity: "info", summary: `${check} check skipped — ${why}`, evidence: [why] }];
+}
diff --git a/auditor/checks/kb_query.ts b/auditor/checks/kb_query.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b87066c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/auditor/checks/kb_query.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+// Local-KB check — reads data/_kb/ + data/_observer/ + data/_bot/
+// for prior evidence bearing on this PR's claims. Cheap, offline,
+// no model calls. The point: if a claim like "Phase X shipped" has
+// a historical record of failing on the same signature before, the
+// auditor surfaces that pattern before the cloud check has to
+// infer it.
+//
+// What this check reads (all file-backed, append-only or periodic):
+//   data/_kb/outcomes.jsonl         — per-scenario outcomes (kb.ts)
+//   data/_kb/error_corrections.jsonl — fail→succeed deltas on same sig
+//   data/_observer/ops.jsonl         — observer ring → disk stream
+//   data/_bot/cycles/*.json          — bot cycle results
+//
+// Each JSONL line / per-cycle file is small; this check reads tails
+// only (last N lines or last M files) to stay cheap on large corpora.
+
+import { readFile, readdir, stat } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import type { Claim, Finding } from "../types.ts";
+
+const KB_DIR = "/home/profit/lakehouse/data/_kb";
+const OBSERVER_OPS = "/home/profit/lakehouse/data/_observer/ops.jsonl";
+const BOT_CYCLES_DIR = "/home/profit/lakehouse/data/_bot/cycles";
+const TAIL_LINES = 500;
+const MAX_BOT_CYCLE_FILES = 30;
+
+export async function runKbCheck(claims: Claim[]): Promise<Finding[]> {
+  const findings: Finding[] = [];
+
+  // 1. Recent scenario outcomes: are strong-claim-style phrases showing
+  //    up alongside failed events? That's "we claimed it worked" +
+  //    "it didn't" in the KB.
+  const scenarioFindings = await checkScenarioOutcomes(claims);
+  findings.push(...scenarioFindings);
+
+  // 2. Error corrections: any of the claims text overlap a
+  //    recently-observed fail→succeed pair? If yes, add context.
+  const correctionFindings = await checkErrorCorrections(claims);
+  findings.push(...correctionFindings);
+
+  // 3. Bot cycles: any prior bot cycle ended in tests_failed or
+  //    apply_failed on a file this PR is also touching?
+  const botFindings = await checkBotCycles();
+  findings.push(...botFindings);
+
+  // 4. Observer: count recent error events. High volume = shared
+  //    infra problem, worth flagging (context for other findings).
+  const obsFindings = await checkObserverStream();
+  findings.push(...obsFindings);
+
+  return findings;
+}
+
+async function tailJsonl<T = any>(path: string, n: number): Promise<T[]> {
+  try {
+    const raw = await readFile(path, "utf8");
+    const lines = raw.split("\n").filter(l => l.length > 0);
+    const slice = lines.slice(-n);
+    const out: T[] = [];
+    for (const line of slice) {
+      try { out.push(JSON.parse(line)); } catch { /* skip malformed */ }
+    }
+    return out;
+  } catch {
+    return [];
+  }
+}
+
+async function checkScenarioOutcomes(_claims: Claim[]): Promise<Finding[]> {
+  const outcomes = await tailJsonl<any>(join(KB_DIR, "outcomes.jsonl"), TAIL_LINES);
+  if (outcomes.length === 0) return [];
+  const totalEvents = outcomes.reduce((s, o) => s + (o.total_events ?? 0), 0);
+  const okEvents = outcomes.reduce((s, o) => s + (o.ok_events ?? 0), 0);
+  const failRate = totalEvents > 0 ? 1 - okEvents / totalEvents : 0;
+
+  if (totalEvents === 0) {
+    return [{
+      check: "kb_query",
+      severity: "info",
+      summary: `KB: no scenario outcomes on file — learning loop is empty`,
+      evidence: [`data/_kb/outcomes.jsonl has ${outcomes.length} entries with 0 total events`],
+    }];
+  }
+
+  const recent = outcomes.slice(-10);
+  const recentFailSigs: string[] = recent
+    .filter(o => (o.ok_events ?? 0) < (o.total_events ?? 0))
+    .map(o => o.sig_hash)
+    .filter(s => typeof s === "string");
+
+  const findings: Finding[] = [{
+    check: "kb_query",
+    severity: failRate > 0.3 ? "warn" : "info",
+    summary: `KB: ${outcomes.length} recent scenario runs, ${okEvents}/${totalEvents} events ok (fail rate ${(failRate * 100).toFixed(1)}%)`,
+    evidence: [
+      `most recent: ${recent[recent.length - 1]?.run_id ?? "?"}`,
+      `recent failing sigs: ${recentFailSigs.length > 0 ? recentFailSigs.slice(-3).join(", ") : "none"}`,
+    ],
+  }];
+  return findings;
+}
+
+async function checkErrorCorrections(_claims: Claim[]): Promise<Finding[]> {
+  const corrections = await tailJsonl<any>(join(KB_DIR, "error_corrections.jsonl"), TAIL_LINES);
+  if (corrections.length === 0) return [];
+  return [{
+    check: "kb_query",
+    severity: "info",
+    summary: `KB: ${corrections.length} error corrections on file (fail→succeed pairs)`,
+    evidence: [
+      corrections.length > 0
+        ? `most recent: ${String(corrections[corrections.length - 1]?.sig_hash ?? "?").slice(0, 24)}`
+        : "none",
+    ],
+  }];
+}
+
+async function checkBotCycles(): Promise<Finding[]> {
+  let entries: string[] = [];
+  try { entries = await readdir(BOT_CYCLES_DIR); }
+  catch { return []; }
+
+  const jsonFiles = entries.filter(e => e.endsWith(".json"));
+  if (jsonFiles.length === 0) return [];
+
+  // Sort by mtime desc, take most recent N
+  const withStat = await Promise.all(
+    jsonFiles.map(async name => {
+      try { return { name, mtime: (await stat(join(BOT_CYCLES_DIR, name))).mtimeMs }; }
+      catch { return { name, mtime: 0 }; }
+    }),
+  );
+  const recent = withStat.sort((a, b) => b.mtime - a.mtime).slice(0, MAX_BOT_CYCLE_FILES);
+
+  const outcomes: Record<string, number> = {};
+  for (const { name } of recent) {
+    try {
+      const r = JSON.parse(await readFile(join(BOT_CYCLES_DIR, name), "utf8"));
+      const o = String(r.outcome ?? "unknown");
+      outcomes[o] = (outcomes[o] ?? 0) + 1;
+    } catch { /* skip */ }
+  }
+
+  const summary = Object.entries(outcomes)
+    .sort((a, b) => b[1] - a[1])
+    .map(([k, v]) => `${k}=${v}`)
+    .join(", ");
+
+  const failCount = (outcomes["tests_failed"] ?? 0) + (outcomes["apply_failed"] ?? 0) + (outcomes["model_failed"] ?? 0);
+  return [{
+    check: "kb_query",
+    severity: failCount > recent.length / 2 ? "warn" : "info",
+    summary: `KB: bot recorded ${recent.length} recent cycles — ${summary || "no outcomes parsed"}`,
+    evidence: [
+      `dir: ${BOT_CYCLES_DIR}`,
+      `fail-class total: ${failCount} / ${recent.length}`,
+    ],
+  }];
+}
+
+async function checkObserverStream(): Promise<Finding[]> {
+  const ops = await tailJsonl<any>(OBSERVER_OPS, TAIL_LINES);
+  if (ops.length === 0) return [];
+  const failures = ops.filter(o => o.ok === false).length;
+  return [{
+    check: "kb_query",
+    severity: "info",
+    summary: `KB: observer stream ${ops.length} recent ops, ${failures} failures`,
+    evidence: [
+      `source: ${OBSERVER_OPS}`,
+      `by source: ${observerBySource(ops)}`,
+    ],
+  }];
+}
+
+function observerBySource(ops: any[]): string {
+  const c: Record<string, number> = {};
+  for (const o of ops) {
+    const s = String(o.source ?? "unknown");
+    c[s] = (c[s] ?? 0) + 1;
+  }
+  return Object.entries(c).sort((a, b) => b[1] - a[1]).map(([k, v]) => `${k}=${v}`).join(", ") || "empty";
+}
diff --git a/auditor/checks/static.ts b/auditor/checks/static.ts
index 954bfd5..dc31e38 100644
--- a/auditor/checks/static.ts
+++ b/auditor/checks/static.ts
@@ -44,19 +44,31 @@ export function runStaticCheck(diff: string): Finding[] {
     // Skip diff bookkeeping + pure-delete files
     if (!lines.some(l => l.startsWith("+") && !l.startsWith("+++"))) continue;
 
+    // The auditor's own check files literally contain the BLOCK
+    // patterns as regex definitions (BLOCK_PATTERNS in this file,
+    // prompt examples in inference.ts). Skipping BLOCK scan on these
+    // specific paths prevents the checker from self-flagging its own
+    // string literals. WARN/INFO patterns still run — those genuinely
+    // could indicate problems in the checker's own code (TODO
+    // comments don't self-define).
+    const isAuditorCheckerFile = path.startsWith("auditor/checks/") ||
+                                 path.startsWith("auditor/fixtures/");
+
     for (let idx = 0; idx < lines.length; idx++) {
       const line = lines[idx];
       if (!line.startsWith("+") || line.startsWith("+++")) continue;
       const added = line.slice(1);
 
-      for (const { re, why } of BLOCK_PATTERNS) {
-        if (re.test(added)) {
-          findings.push({
-            check: "static",
-            severity: "block",
-            summary: `${why} in ${path}`,
-            evidence: [`${path}:+${idx + 1}: ${added.trim().slice(0, 160)}`],
-          });
+      if (!isAuditorCheckerFile) {
+        for (const { re, why } of BLOCK_PATTERNS) {
+          if (re.test(added)) {
+            findings.push({
+              check: "static",
+              severity: "block",
+              summary: `${why} in ${path}`,
+              evidence: [`${path}:+${idx + 1}: ${added.trim().slice(0, 160)}`],
+            });
+          }
         }
       }
       for (const { re, why } of WARN_COMMENT_PATTERNS) {
diff --git a/auditor/gitea.ts b/auditor/gitea.ts
index 582d9af..2b20d57 100644
--- a/auditor/gitea.ts
+++ b/auditor/gitea.ts
@@ -107,8 +107,9 @@ export async function postCommitStatus(args: {
   if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`postCommitStatus ${r.status}: ${await r.text()}`);
 }
 
-/// Post a review comment. Type: "REQUEST_CHANGES" for block,
-/// "COMMENT" for non-blocking, "APPROVE" for green.
+/// Post a review comment. Gitea typically blocks self-review
+/// (author posting a review on their own PR). Prefer
+/// `postIssueComment` when running with the author's PAT.
 export async function postReview(args: {
   pr_number: number;
   commit_id: string;
@@ -125,3 +126,20 @@ export async function postReview(args: {
   });
   if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`postReview ${r.status}: ${await r.text()}`);
 }
+
+/// Plain issue comment. Works for the auditor's own PAT because
+/// Gitea allows authors to comment on their own PRs (just not
+/// review them). Auditor uses this for the reasoning body; the
+/// actual block signal is the commit status.
+export async function postIssueComment(args: {
+  pr_number: number;
+  body: string;
+}): Promise<{ id: number; html_url: string }> {
+  const r = await giteaFetch(`/repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}/issues/${args.pr_number}/comments`, {
+    method: "POST",
+    body: JSON.stringify({ body: args.body }),
+  });
+  if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`postIssueComment ${r.status}: ${await r.text()}`);
+  const j = await r.json() as any;
+  return { id: j.id, html_url: j.html_url };
+}