@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/objectql': patch
+---
+
+fix(objectql)!: a number or a boolean written to a text-family field is stored as the string the validator judged
+
+Clause-②: yes (narrowing)
+Metadata-protocol: none
+
+<!-- adr-0087: not-required (no-migration-prescription) No metadata key, value or type moves, and no export or type changes: the write door now stores the string the record validator already judged a number or boolean by. The narrowed face is a runtime answer on a unique text-family field (a second write that the stored value now collides with), not anything an author wrote, so there is nothing for objectstack migrate meta to rewrite and no tombstone. Rows already stored are not rewritten by this change, so no stored-row migration is prescribed either. -->
+
+**BREAKING** for one case only, a `unique` text-family field. FROM: `{ code: 42 }` and then `{ code: "42" }` (or `true` and then `"true"`) both answered `201` and stored two rows, on driver-memory and on SQLite. TO: both writes store `"42"`, so the second one is refused `409 UNIQUE_VIOLATION`. The fix for a caller that hits it: the two writes are the same value; send the string once, or update the existing row. In the other direction, SQLite used to refuse `true` after `1` (and `false` after `0`) because both were stored as `"1.0"` (`"0.0"`); both now land as two different strings (`"true"` and `"1"`). driver-memory admitted both before and still does.
+
+The record validator's string arm (`text`, `textarea`, `email`, `url`, `phone`, `password`, `markdown`, `html`, `richtext`, `code`, `signature`, `qrcode`) judges a number or a boolean by its string reading: `42` is bounded and format-checked as `"42"`, `true` as `"true"`. The write used to carry the raw scalar to the driver, so the stored value depended on the driver: driver-memory stored and read back the number `42` and the boolean `true`, and SQLite stored the TEXT `"42.0"` for `42` and `"1.0"` for `true` (a `maxLength: 2` field admitted `42` and then held four characters). The write door now writes the judged string into the payload, beside the numeric-string rewrite on number fields, on insert, insertMany, update by id, update by predicate and the `validate()` dry run.
+
+What you will see: a text-family column now stores and reads back `"42"` where driver-memory stored `42`, and `"42"` / `"true"` where SQLite stored `"42.0"` / `"1.0"`. A single write is answered as before: the same payloads are admitted and refused. What moves is the unique answer above, and hooks, formulas and filters now see the string. A filter that compares a text-family field to the number `42` (or to a boolean) no longer matches a row written as `42`, because that row is now stored as `"42"`: filter with the string. The fix on the filter side is tracked separately. Rows already stored are not rewritten, so an old SQLite `"42.0"` row, or a raw `42` in a driver-memory store with `persistence` enabled, does not collide with a new `"42"`. Unchanged: strings, `null`, missing keys, objects and arrays (refused), `json` and the structured types, and number and boolean fields.
@@ -36,7 +36,10 @@ const DEAL = {
   label: 'Deal',
   fields: {
     body: { name: 'body', label: 'Body', type: 'text' },
-    say: { name: 'say', label: 'Say', type: 'text' },
+    // `json`, not `text`: the refusal cases below hand the hook a raw number,
+    // and a text-family field stores (and hands its hooks) the string the
+    // validator judges a number by (#29241).
+    say: { name: 'say', label: 'Say', type: 'json' },
     say_after: { name: 'say_after', label: 'Say after', type: 'text' },
   },
 };
 
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+
+/**
+ * [#29241] A number or a boolean written to a string-typed field
+ * (`BOUNDED_STRING_FIELD_TYPES`) is stored as the string the record
+ * validator's string arm judged it by.
+ *
+ * Measured on `origin/main` @ `a19759ac` before the change: the arm judged
+ * `String(value)` (`42` as `'42'`, `true` as `'true'`) while the write carried
+ * the raw scalar, so the driver's `create()` / `update()` received the number
+ * or the boolean as sent. The door now writes the judged string into the
+ * payload (`normalizeNumericStringValues`, beside the number arm's #20309
+ * rewrite), on every engine door: insert, insertMany, update by id and update
+ * by predicate. (The `validate()` dry run calls the same function at the same
+ * point; its answer carries no values, so the arm's verdict there is unchanged.)
+ *
+ * A single write is admitted or refused exactly as before. The unique-key
+ * answer does move (Clause-② yes, narrowing): `42` after `"42"` on a `unique`
+ * text field now collides, pinned below at the driver door and against SQLite
+ * in `rest-data-text-scalar-value.test.ts`. Untouched, and pinned
+ * here: a string, `null`, a missing key, a plain object or an array (refused,
+ * #29133), a `json` field, a number field, a boolean field, and a declared
+ * field the validator never judges.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { BOUNDED_STRING_FIELD_TYPES } from '@objectstack/spec/data';
+import { normalizeNumericStringValues, validateRecord, ValidationError } from './record-validator.js';
+import { ObjectQL } from '../engine.js';
+
+const STRING_TYPES = [...BOUNDED_STRING_FIELD_TYPES];
+
+const SCALARS: ReadonlyArray<readonly [unknown, string]> = [
+  [42, '42'],
+  [0, '0'],
+  [-1.5, '-1.5'],
+  [true, 'true'],
+  [false, 'false'],
+];
+
+describe('#29241 — the door writes the string the arm judged', () => {
+  it('reads the spec set, which still holds the twelve members this pin was written against', () => {
+    expect(STRING_TYPES).toHaveLength(12);
+  });
+
+  for (const type of STRING_TYPES) {
+    for (const [input, stored] of SCALARS) {
+      it(`${type}: ${JSON.stringify(input)} is written as ${JSON.stringify(stored)}`, () => {
+        const out = normalizeNumericStringValues({ fields: { f: { type } } }, { f: input });
+        expect(out.f).toBe(stored);
+      });
+    }
+  }
+
+  it('the written string is the one the arm judges: a bound reads its length', () => {
+    const schema = { fields: { code: { type: 'text', label: 'Code', maxLength: 2 } } };
+    const row = normalizeNumericStringValues(schema, { code: 123 });
+    expect(row).toEqual({ code: '123' });
+    let err: unknown = null;
+    try {
+      validateRecord(schema, row, 'insert');
+    } catch (e) {
+      err = e;
+    }
+    expect(err).toBeInstanceOf(ValidationError);
+    expect((err as ValidationError).fields.map((f) => [f.field, f.code])).toEqual([['code', 'max_length']]);
+  });
+
+  it('a readonly field is written too: its value is judged on every write', () => {
+    const schema = { fields: { stamp: { type: 'text', readonly: true } } };
+    expect(normalizeNumericStringValues(schema, { stamp: 7 })).toEqual({ stamp: '7' });
+  });
+
+  it('a batch is rewritten per row, and the caller objects are never mutated', () => {
+    const schema = { fields: { title: { type: 'text' } } };
+    const a = { title: 1 };
+    const b = { title: 'two' };
+    const list = [a, b];
+    const out = normalizeNumericStringValues(schema, list);
+    expect(out).not.toBe(list);
+    expect(out[0]).toEqual({ title: '1' });
+    expect(out[1]).toBe(b);
+    expect(a).toEqual({ title: 1 });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('#29241 — what the door leaves alone', () => {
+  const schema = {
+    fields: {
+      title: { type: 'text' },
+      payload: { type: 'json' },
+      amount: { type: 'number' },
+      done: { type: 'boolean' },
+    },
+  };
+
+  it('a string, null, a missing key, an object and an array on a text field: the same row back', () => {
+    for (const row of [{ title: '42' }, { title: null }, { title: undefined }, {}, { title: { a: 1 } }, { title: ['a'] }]) {
+      expect(normalizeNumericStringValues(schema, row), JSON.stringify(row)).toBe(row);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('a json, number or boolean field keeps its number or boolean', () => {
+    const row = { payload: 42, amount: 42, done: true };
+    expect(normalizeNumericStringValues(schema, row)).toBe(row);
+    const flags = { payload: false, amount: 0, done: false };
+    expect(normalizeNumericStringValues(schema, flags)).toBe(flags);
+  });
+
+  it('a declared field the validator never judges is not rewritten (a SKIP_FIELDS name, a system field)', () => {
+    const own = { fields: { id: { type: 'text' }, tenant_tag: { type: 'text', system: true } } };
+    const row = { id: 42, tenant_tag: 7 };
+    expect(normalizeNumericStringValues(own, row)).toBe(row);
+  });
+
+  it('an undeclared key is not rewritten', () => {
+    const row = { nope: 42 };
+    expect(normalizeNumericStringValues(schema, row)).toBe(row);
+  });
+});
+
+/** The driver-facing half: what each engine door hands the driver. */
+describe('#29241 — write path end to end: the driver receives the judged string', () => {
+  async function boot() {
+    const engine = new ObjectQL();
+    const writes: unknown[] = [];
+    const rows = new Map<string, Record<string, unknown>>([['rec_1', { id: 'rec_1', title: 'orig' }]]);
+    engine.registerDriver({
+      name: 'recording', version: '0.0.0', supports: {},
+      async connect() {}, async disconnect() {}, async checkHealth() { return true; },
+      async execute() { return null; },
+      async find() { return Array.from(rows.values()); },
+      async findOne(_o: string, ast: any) { return rows.get(ast?.where?.id) ?? null; },
+      async create(_o: string, data: Record<string, unknown>) { writes.push(data); return { ...data, id: 'x' }; },
+      async update(_o: string, id: string, data: Record<string, unknown>) { writes.push(data); return { ...data, id }; },
+      async updateMany(_o: unknown, _a: unknown, data: unknown) { writes.push(data); return 0; },
+      async delete() { return true; }, async count() { return rows.size; },
+      async bulkCreate(_o: string, data: Record<string, unknown>[]) { writes.push(...data); return data.map((d, i) => ({ ...d, id: `b${i}` })); },
+      async bulkUpdate() { return []; }, async bulkDelete() {},
+      async beginTransaction() { return { commit: async () => {}, rollback: async () => {} }; },
+      async commit() {}, async rollback() {},
+    } as any, true);
+    await engine.init();
+    engine.registry.registerObject({
+      name: 'scalar_task', label: 'Task',
+      fields: {
+        id: { name: 'id', label: 'ID', type: 'text', primaryKey: true },
+        title: { name: 'title', label: 'Title', type: 'text' },
+        mail: { name: 'mail', label: 'Mail', type: 'phone' },
+        amount: { name: 'amount', label: 'Amount', type: 'number' },
+        code: { name: 'code', label: 'Code', type: 'text', unique: true },
+      },
+    } as any);
+    return { engine, writes };
+  }
+
+  const titles = (writes: unknown[]) => writes.map((w) => (w as Record<string, unknown>).title);
+
+  it('insert, insertMany, update by id and update by predicate', async () => {
+    const { engine, writes } = await boot();
+    await engine.insert('scalar_task', { title: 42, mail: 5551234, amount: 7 } as any);
+    await engine.insert('scalar_task', [{ title: true }, { title: 'kept' }] as any);
+    await engine.update('scalar_task', { title: false } as any, { where: { id: 'rec_1' } } as any);
+    await engine.update('scalar_task', { title: 0 } as any, { multi: true } as any);
+    expect(titles(writes)).toEqual(['42', 'true', 'kept', 'false', '0']);
+    for (const w of writes) {
+      const title = (w as Record<string, unknown>).title;
+      expect(typeof title, JSON.stringify(w)).toBe('string');
+    }
+    // A text-family format type is written the same way; a number field keeps its number.
+    expect(writes[0]).toEqual(expect.objectContaining({ mail: '5551234', amount: 7 }));
+  });
+
+  it('a unique text field: 42 and "42" reach the driver as one value, so its unique key sees one value', async () => {
+    // What any driver's unique check compares (driver-memory keys on the stored
+    // value): base handed it 42 and "42", two keys; now one.
+    const { engine, writes } = await boot();
+    await engine.insert('scalar_task', { code: 42 } as any);
+    await engine.insert('scalar_task', { code: '42' } as any);
+    expect(writes.map((w) => (w as Record<string, unknown>).code)).toEqual(['42', '42']);
+  });
+});
@@ -945,6 +945,30 @@ function isPlainObjectValue(value: unknown): boolean {
  * driver copy. A value a `before*` hook writes after the door is the hook's
  * own and is not rewritten; the arm still judges it by the same grammar.
  *
+ * ## [#29241] The string arm's half: a number or a boolean on a text field
+ *
+ * The mirror case on the string-stored side. The record validator's string arm
+ * (`BOUNDED_STRING_FIELD_TYPES`, the spec's set: text, textarea, email, url,
+ * phone, password, markdown, html, richtext, code, signature, qrcode) judges a
+ * number or a boolean by its string reading, `String(value)`: `42` is bounded,
+ * domain-checked and format-checked as `'42'`, `true` as `'true'`. The write
+ * carried the raw scalar, so driver-memory stored and read back the number `42`
+ * while a TEXT column hands back a string: one write, two stored shapes, and
+ * an equality filter or a sort that differs by driver. This writes the string
+ * the arm judged, on the same fields the numeric half reads (the validator's
+ * walk, `readonly` included). A single write is admitted or refused exactly as
+ * before; what changes is the stored form, and with it every answer that reads
+ * the stored value. A `unique` text field's key now compares the string, so
+ * `42` after `"42"` is refused as a duplicate (and on SQLite, which stored
+ * `true` and `1` both as `'1.0'`, those two no longer collide), and a filter
+ * comparing the field to the number `42` no longer matches a row written as
+ * `42`.
+ *
+ * ⛔ Not touched: a string (judged and written as itself), `null` and a missing
+ * key, a plain object or an array (the arm refuses them, #29133), every other
+ * non-scalar, and every field outside the set — `json` and the structured
+ * types, the number and boolean fields, select and the reference types.
+ *
  * Same contract as {@link normalizeBlankTypedValues}: one record or an array of
  * them, pure — the same reference comes back when nothing changed, else a
  * shallow copy (per row, and a copied array).
@@ -970,17 +994,33 @@ function normalizeNumericStringRow(fields: Record<string, FieldDef>, row: unknow
   if (!isPlainRecord(row)) return row;
   let out: Record<string, unknown> | undefined;
   for (const [name, value] of Object.entries(row)) {
-    if (typeof value !== 'string') continue;
+    const isString = typeof value === 'string';
+    if (!isString && !isStringReadScalar(value)) continue;
     // Own-property: a field name may be `constructor` / `valueOf`.
     const def = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(fields, name) ? fields[name] : undefined;
-    if (!def || !isJudgedNumberType(def.type) || !isInReadonlyScope(name, def, 'include')) continue;
-    const n = parseNumericString(value);
-    if (n === undefined) continue;
-    (out ??= { ...row })[name] = n;
+    if (!def || !isInReadonlyScope(name, def, 'include')) continue;
+    if (isString) {
+      if (!isJudgedNumberType(def.type)) continue;
+      const n = parseNumericString(value);
+      if (n === undefined) continue;
+      (out ??= { ...row })[name] = n;
+    } else if (BOUNDED_STRING_FIELD_TYPES.has(def.type)) {
+      // [#29241] The string arm's reading of a number or a boolean.
+      (out ??= { ...row })[name] = String(value);
+    }
   }
   return out ?? row;
 }
 
+/**
+ * [#29241] A number or a boolean: the scalars the record validator's string arm
+ * judges by their string reading (`String(value)`), so the door writes that
+ * string into a text-family field ({@link normalizeNumericStringValues}).
+ */
+function isStringReadScalar(value: unknown): value is number | boolean {
+  return typeof value === 'number' || typeof value === 'boolean';
+}
+
 /**
  * Coerce `boolean`-typed fields from their SQL storage form (integer `0`/`1`,
  * or the strings `'0'`/`'1'`/`'true'`/`'false'`) into real JS booleans, on a
@@ -1225,7 +1265,9 @@ function validateOne(
     // stored value for this class and neither has a string reading the author
     // meant, so the arm refuses it with the number arm's #20309 posture: never
     // silently alter a value. It is a SHAPE test, so it runs ahead of
-    // `shapeOnly`. A number or a boolean keeps its string reading; a
+    // `shapeOnly`. A number or a boolean keeps its string reading, and
+    // [#29241] `normalizeNumericStringValues` has already written that string
+    // into the payload at the door, so the driver stores what was judged; a
     // filter-operator object was already refused above, with its own sentence.
     if (isPlainObjectValue(value) || Array.isArray(value)) {
       return fail(