@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/cloud-connection': patch
+'@objectstack/metadata-core': patch
+---
+
+feat(cloud-connection,metadata-core): an install the protocol handshake admitted without checking says so in its answer, not only in the server log
+
+Clause-②: yes (widening)
+Metadata-protocol: none
+
+- **`@objectstack/cloud-connection`: `POST /api/v1/marketplace/install-local` answers `data.protocolCheckSkipped`** when the ADR-0087 handshake admitted the package without checking it: `{ reason, packageId, protocolVersion, message }`, plus `requiredRange` and `rangeSource` for `reason: 'unparsed-range'`. `reason` is the handshake's own verdict: `no-range` (the package declares no `engines.protocol`) or `unparsed-range` (it declares a range the handshake cannot read). `protocolVersion` is the protocol the package was installed under unchecked, and `message` says so in plain words for the person who pressed Install. It is on all three success answers (managed, `unmanaged`, and a paired customization package), and omitted, not nulled, when the range was checked, so that answer's key set is unchanged. The `warn` log line stays as it was.
+- **`@objectstack/metadata-core`: `assertProtocolCompat` returns the verdict it admitted the package under** (new exported type `ProtocolCompatAdmitted`; it returned `void`), and the `no-range` and `unparsed-range` verdicts of `checkProtocolCompat` carry `protocolVersion`, the version they were judged against. A door that answers a caller reads the skipped check from the handshake itself instead of judging the range a second time.
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
 import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import { PROTOCOL_MAJOR, PROTOCOL_VERSION } from '@objectstack/spec/kernel';
 // The runtime binder the door's step 1d loads lazily — paid here, at module
 // top, never inside a clocked `it` (`scripts/check-test-source-alias.mjs`).
 import '@objectstack/runtime';
@@ -368,3 +369,21 @@ describe('install-local — a pair install refused before any write', () => {
         expectNoCodeInstall(h);
     });
 });
+
+describe('[#30326] a pair install the handshake admitted unchecked says so in its answer', () => {
+    it('a pair export with no engines.protocol answers `protocolCheckSkipped` reason `no-range`', async () => {
+        const h = await mount(dir);
+        const res = await h.install(exportedPair());
+        expect(res.status, JSON.stringify(res.payload)).toBe(200);
+        const { message, ...machine } = res.payload.data.protocolCheckSkipped;
+        expect(machine).toEqual({ reason: 'no-range', packageId: PAIR, protocolVersion: PROTOCOL_VERSION });
+        expect(message).toContain(`'${PAIR}'`);
+    });
+
+    it(`control: a pair export that declares ^${PROTOCOL_MAJOR} answers no \`protocolCheckSkipped\` key`, async () => {
+        const h = await mount(dir);
+        const res = await h.install(exportedPair({ engines: { protocol: `^${PROTOCOL_MAJOR}` } }));
+        expect(res.status, JSON.stringify(res.payload)).toBe(200);
+        expect(Object.keys(res.payload.data)).not.toContain('protocolCheckSkipped');
+    });
+});
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 // the plugin reaches the same module through a dynamic `import()`.
 import '@objectstack/runtime';
 import { SCHEDULED_WORK_ENV } from '@objectstack/types';
+import { PROTOCOL_MAJOR } from '@objectstack/spec/kernel';
 import { MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin } from './marketplace-install-local-plugin.js';
 import { installerAuthService, withInstallerGrants } from './install-local-principal.fixtures.js';
 import { LocalManifestSource } from './local-manifest-source.js';
@@ -66,7 +67,13 @@ const HANDLER_JOB = { name: 'jobs_app_tick_handler', schedule: INTERVAL, handler
 /** The compiled-artifact shape `os build` writes and `os package install` sends. */
 function artifact(jobs: unknown[] | undefined, id: string = APP_ID) {
     return {
-        manifest: { id, namespace: 'jobs_app', version: '0.1.0', type: 'app', name: 'Jobs App' },
+        // A range this runtime admits, as a scaffolded app declares one: the
+        // answer then carries no `protocolCheckSkipped` notice, and the key
+        // set the jobs-free case pins is the jobs gate's alone.
+        manifest: {
+            id, namespace: 'jobs_app', version: '0.1.0', type: 'app', name: 'Jobs App',
+            engines: { protocol: `^${PROTOCOL_MAJOR}` },
+        },
         objects: [{ name: TICK, label: 'Tick', fields: { name: { type: 'text', label: 'Name' } } }],
         ...(jobs ? { jobs } : {}),
     };
 
@@ -207,6 +207,7 @@ import { PackageExportManifestSchema, type PackageExportManifest } from '@object
 import {
     assertProtocolCompat,
     checkProtocolCompat,
+    type ProtocolCompatAdmitted,
     // [ADR-0141 D2] The pre-install dependency check: the one predicate and
     // the one answer every package-install door gives its refusal.
     checkDeclaredDependencies,
@@ -728,6 +729,58 @@ function withheldMapsLogLine(
         + 'environment variables until each map is supplied again where the connector is authored.';
 }
 
+/**
+ * [#30326] What an install answer carries when ADR-0087 D1's handshake
+ * admitted the package WITHOUT checking it: the person who pressed Install is
+ * the one who needs to know, and the `warn` line alone reaches only whoever
+ * reads the server log. Present on a success answer only then; omitted, not
+ * nulled, for a package whose range was checked, so that answer's key set is
+ * unchanged.
+ *
+ * `reason` is the handshake's own verdict, never a second reading of the
+ * range: `no-range` (the package declares no `engines.protocol`, nor either
+ * legacy spelling) or `unparsed-range` (it declares a range the handshake's
+ * grammar does not read). `protocolVersion` is the protocol the package was
+ * loaded under unchecked.
+ */
+export type ProtocolCheckSkipped =
+    | { reason: 'no-range'; packageId: string; protocolVersion: string; message: string }
+    | {
+        reason: 'unparsed-range';
+        packageId: string;
+        protocolVersion: string;
+        requiredRange: string;
+        rangeSource: string;
+        message: string;
+    };
+
+/** [#30326] The notice for a verdict the handshake admitted unchecked; `undefined` for a checked one. */
+function protocolCheckSkippedOf(verdict: ProtocolCompatAdmitted, packageId: string): ProtocolCheckSkipped | undefined {
+    if (verdict.status === 'ok') return undefined;
+    const consequence = `so it was installed under platform protocol ${verdict.protocolVersion} without a compatibility `
+        + 'check and may not work on this platform version. A build of the package that declares the protocol it '
+        + 'supports (`engines.protocol`) is checked at install.';
+    switch (verdict.status) {
+        case 'no-range':
+            return {
+                reason: 'no-range',
+                packageId,
+                protocolVersion: verdict.protocolVersion,
+                message: `Package '${packageId}' does not state which platform protocol it supports, ${consequence}`,
+            };
+        case 'unparsed-range':
+            return {
+                reason: 'unparsed-range',
+                packageId,
+                protocolVersion: verdict.protocolVersion,
+                requiredRange: verdict.requiredRange,
+                rangeSource: verdict.source,
+                message: `Package '${packageId}' states its platform protocol as '${verdict.requiredRange}' `
+                    + `(${verdict.source}), which this runtime cannot read, ${consequence}`,
+            };
+    }
+}
+
 /**
  * [ADR-0131 D6] The package manifest an install body DECLARES — where each of
  * the two single-package shapes this door accepts carries it: a compiled
@@ -1911,8 +1964,14 @@ export class MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin implements Plugin {
         //     hooks with THIS runtime's binder: ADR-0087 D1 checks "before
         //     loading a package's metadata". An absent or unrecognised range is
         //     admitted with a warning, as at every seam the handshake guards.
+        //
+        //     [#30326] The log line is the operator's; the verdict it admitted
+        //     the package under is also the answer's: every success answer
+        //     below carries `protocolCheckSkipped` when the check did not run.
+        let protocolCheckSkipped: ProtocolCheckSkipped | undefined;
         try {
-            assertProtocolCompat(manifest, undefined, (m) => ctx.logger?.warn?.(`[MarketplaceInstallLocal] ${m}`));
+            const admitted = assertProtocolCompat(manifest, undefined, (m) => ctx.logger?.warn?.(`[MarketplaceInstallLocal] ${m}`));
+            protocolCheckSkipped = protocolCheckSkippedOf(admitted, manifestId);
         } catch (err) {
             if (!isProtocolIncompatibleError(err)) throw err;
             const refusal = protocolIncompatibleAnswer(err);
@@ -2090,6 +2149,7 @@ export class MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin implements Plugin {
                 versionId: resolvedVersionId,
                 userId,
                 withheldMaps,
+                protocolCheckSkipped,
             });
         }
 
@@ -2135,6 +2195,7 @@ export class MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin implements Plugin {
                 versionId: resolvedVersionId,
                 userId,
                 withheldMaps,
+                protocolCheckSkipped,
             });
         }
 
@@ -2520,6 +2581,11 @@ export class MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin implements Plugin {
                 // withheld whole, so it arrived absent. Omitted when there are
                 // none, so that answer's key set is unchanged.
                 ...(withheldMaps.length > 0 ? { withheldMaps } : {}),
+                // [#30326] The handshake admitted the package without checking
+                // it (no `engines.protocol`, or a range it cannot read): the
+                // installer is told, not only the server log. Omitted when the
+                // range was checked, so that answer's key set is unchanged.
+                ...(protocolCheckSkipped !== undefined ? { protocolCheckSkipped } : {}),
                 upgradedFrom: conflict === 'marketplace' ? 'previous-marketplace-version' : null,
                 // [ADR-0146 D2, #28410] Names installed dependents already held,
                 // undeclared, that this version now ships (step 2d). Omitted when
@@ -3738,9 +3804,11 @@ export class MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin implements Plugin {
             manifest: Record<string, any>; manifestId: string; version: string; versionId: string; userId: string | null;
             /** [#28640 ruling ③A] The connector maps the export withheld ({@link judgeWithheldMaps}). */
             withheldMaps: readonly WithheldMap[];
+            /** [#30326] The handshake admitted the package unchecked ({@link protocolCheckSkippedOf}). */
+            protocolCheckSkipped: ProtocolCheckSkipped | undefined;
         },
     ): Promise<Response> => {
-        const { manifest, manifestId, version, versionId, userId, withheldMaps } = args;
+        const { manifest, manifestId, version, versionId, userId, withheldMaps, protocolCheckSkipped } = args;
         let protocol: UnmanagedImporter | undefined;
         try { protocol = ctx.getService<UnmanagedImporter>('protocol'); } catch { /* no protocol service */ }
         if (!protocol || typeof protocol.importUnmanagedPackage !== 'function') {
@@ -3820,6 +3888,8 @@ export class MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin implements Plugin {
                 // withheld whole, so its copy carries it absent. Omitted when
                 // there are none, so that answer's key set is unchanged.
                 ...(withheldMaps.length > 0 ? { withheldMaps: [...withheldMaps] } : {}),
+                // [#30326] Omitted when the handshake checked the package's range.
+                ...(protocolCheckSkipped !== undefined ? { protocolCheckSkipped } : {}),
                 ...(declaresSeeds
                     ? {
                         seeded: {
@@ -3891,9 +3961,11 @@ export class MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin implements Plugin {
             version: string; versionId: string; userId: string | null;
             /** [#28640 ruling ③A] The connector maps the export withheld ({@link judgeWithheldMaps}). */
             withheldMaps: readonly WithheldMap[];
+            /** [#30326] The handshake admitted the package unchecked ({@link protocolCheckSkippedOf}). */
+            protocolCheckSkipped: ProtocolCheckSkipped | undefined;
         },
     ): Promise<Response> => {
-        const { manifest, manifestId, baseId, version, versionId, userId, withheldMaps } = args;
+        const { manifest, manifestId, baseId, version, versionId, userId, withheldMaps, protocolCheckSkipped } = args;
         const refuse = (status: number, code: string, message: string, details?: Record<string, unknown>) =>
             c.json({ success: false, error: { code, message, ...(details ? { details } : {}) } }, status as any);
 
@@ -4054,6 +4126,8 @@ export class MarketplaceInstallLocalPlugin implements Plugin {
                 written,
                 // [#28640 ruling ③A] Omitted when the export withheld none.
                 ...(withheldMaps.length > 0 ? { withheldMaps: [...withheldMaps] } : {}),
+                // [#30326] Omitted when the handshake checked the package's range.
+                ...(protocolCheckSkipped !== undefined ? { protocolCheckSkipped } : {}),
                 ...(plan.carriesSeedData
                     ? {
                         seeded: {
 
@@ -96,17 +96,28 @@ function makeRawApp() {
  * hand back every writer the install path can reach, so a refusal can be
  * checked for having written nothing at all.
  */
-async function mount(dir: string, opts: { controlPlaneUrl?: string } = {}) {
+async function mount(dir: string, opts: { controlPlaneUrl?: string; unmanagedImport?: boolean } = {}) {
     const rawApp = makeRawApp();
     const hooks = new Map<string, any>();
     const registry: any[] = [];
     const register = vi.fn((m: any) => { registry.push({ manifest: m }); });
     const syncSchemas = vi.fn(async () => undefined);
     const logger = { info: vi.fn(), warn: vi.fn(), error: vi.fn() };
+    // [#30326] The protocol's copy-once import, for an `unmanaged` install.
+    const importUnmanagedPackage = vi.fn(async (request: any) => ({
+        sourcePackageId: request.manifest.id,
+        sourceVersion: request.manifest.version,
+        targetPackageId: `${request.manifest.id}-copy`,
+        namespace: request.manifest.namespace,
+        copiedCount: 0,
+        copied: [],
+        strippedLocks: [],
+    }));
     const services: Record<string, any> = {
         manifest: { register },
         auth: installerAuthService(),
         objectql: withInstallerGrants({ syncSchemas, registry: { getAllPackages: () => registry } }),
+        ...(opts.unmanagedImport ? { protocol: { importUnmanagedPackage } } : {}),
     };
     const ctx = {
         hook: (e: string, h: any) => hooks.set(e, h),
@@ -520,3 +531,67 @@ describe('[#26480] a package AHEAD of this runtime is told to upgrade, never to
         expect(said[0]).toMatch(new RegExp(`upgrade the runtime to protocol ${NEW_MAJOR}`, 'i'));
     });
 });
+
+describe('[#30326] an install the handshake admitted UNCHECKED says so in its answer, not only in the server log', () => {
+    /** The card's reproduction: a package that declares no protocol range at all. */
+    const UNDECLARED_ID = 'com.example.qanorange';
+    const UNDECLARED = { id: UNDECLARED_ID, name: 'No range', version: '6.0.0', scope: 'project', type: 'app' };
+
+    /** The notice the answer carries for a package the handshake could not check. */
+    function expectSkipped(res: { payload: any; status: number }, expected: Record<string, unknown>) {
+        expect(res.status, JSON.stringify(res.payload)).toBe(200);
+        expect(res.payload.success).toBe(true);
+        const notice = res.payload.data.protocolCheckSkipped;
+        expect(notice, JSON.stringify(res.payload.data)).toBeDefined();
+        const { message, ...machine } = notice;
+        expect(machine).toEqual({ protocolVersion: PROTOCOL_VERSION, ...expected });
+        expect(message).toContain(`'${expected.packageId}'`);
+        expect(message).toContain(`protocol ${PROTOCOL_VERSION} without a compatibility check`);
+    }
+
+    it('no engines.protocol (inline manifest): 200 with `protocolCheckSkipped` reason `no-range`, and the log line stays', async () => {
+        const h = await mount(dir);
+        const res = await h.install({ manifest: UNDECLARED });
+        expectSkipped(res, { reason: 'no-range', packageId: UNDECLARED_ID });
+        expect(h.installRegistrations().map((m) => m.id)).toEqual([UNDECLARED_ID]);
+        const said = h.logger.warn.mock.calls.map(([m]) => String(m)).filter((m) => m.includes('[protocol]'));
+        expect(said).toHaveLength(1);
+        expect(said[0]).toContain(`package '${UNDECLARED_ID}' declares no engines.protocol range`);
+    });
+
+    it('the compiled artifact `os package install <file>` sends answers the same notice', async () => {
+        const h = await mount(dir);
+        const res = await h.install({
+            manifest: { manifest: UNDECLARED, id: UNDECLARED_ID, version: UNDECLARED.version, objects: [] },
+        });
+        expectSkipped(res, { reason: 'no-range', packageId: UNDECLARED_ID });
+    });
+
+    it('a range the handshake cannot read: reason `unparsed-range`, with the range and where it was declared', async () => {
+        const h = await mount(dir);
+        const res = await h.install({ manifest: { ...UNDECLARED, engines: { protocol: 'workspace:*' } } });
+        expectSkipped(res, {
+            reason: 'unparsed-range',
+            packageId: UNDECLARED_ID,
+            requiredRange: 'workspace:*',
+            rangeSource: 'engines.protocol',
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('an `unmanaged` install of the same package carries the notice too', async () => {
+        const h = await mount(dir, { unmanagedImport: true });
+        const res = await h.install({
+            manifest: { ...UNDECLARED, namespace: 'qanorange', installModes: ['managed', 'unmanaged'] },
+            installMode: 'unmanaged',
+        });
+        expect(res.payload.data?.installMode, JSON.stringify(res.payload)).toBe('unmanaged');
+        expectSkipped(res, { reason: 'no-range', packageId: UNDECLARED_ID });
+    });
+
+    it(`control: under ${CURRENT_RANGE} the range is checked, and the answer has no \`protocolCheckSkipped\` key`, async () => {
+        const h = await mount(dir);
+        const res = await h.install({ manifest: { ...UNDECLARED, engines: { protocol: CURRENT_RANGE } } });
+        expect(res.status, JSON.stringify(res.payload)).toBe(200);
+        expect(Object.keys(res.payload.data)).not.toContain('protocolCheckSkipped');
+    });
+});
@@ -544,3 +544,24 @@ describe('[#26546] the refusal reads the comparator direction, so an exclusive b
     });
   });
 });
+
+describe('[#30326] assertProtocolCompat answers the verdict it admitted the package under', () => {
+  it('no-range: the handshake\'s own verdict, naming the protocol the package loads under unchecked', () => {
+    expect(assertProtocolCompat({ id: 'p' }, RT, () => {})).toEqual({
+      status: 'no-range', runtimeMajor: 11, protocolVersion: RT,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('unparsed-range: the verdict with the range and its source', () => {
+    expect(assertProtocolCompat({ id: 'p', engines: { protocol: '???' } }, RT, () => {})).toEqual({
+      status: 'unparsed-range', runtimeMajor: 11, protocolVersion: RT, requiredRange: '???', source: 'engines.protocol',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('ok: the checked verdict, equal to checkProtocolCompat\'s for the same manifest', () => {
+    const manifest = { id: 'p', engines: { protocol: '^11' } };
+    const admitted = assertProtocolCompat(manifest, RT, () => {});
+    expect(admitted.status).toBe('ok');
+    expect(admitted).toEqual(checkProtocolCompat(manifest, RT));
+  });
+});