diff --git a/Taskfile.yml b/Taskfile.yml
index bf612ee..c5627e2 100644
--- a/Taskfile.yml
+++ b/Taskfile.yml
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ tasks:
       - bash tests/smoke/caddy-mvp-s05-03-offline.sh
       - bash tests/smoke/e8-s03-01.sh
       - bash tests/meta/doc10-roadmap-status.yaml
+      - bash tests/meta/e1g-standing-policy.yaml
       - bash tests/meta/release-provenance.yaml
       - bash tests/meta/verify-fetch-depth.yaml
       - bash tests/meta/batch2-smoke-wired.yaml
@@ -416,7 +417,7 @@ tasks:
       - bash tests/smoke/e8b-offline.sh
 
   e8b:up:
-    desc: "E8b — LIVE on-demand demo bring-up (COSTS MONEY; DECIDED-B on-demand, NOT standing). Composes the E1g GSK substrate, re-syncs the GitOps app-of-apps, waits healthy. Tear down with e8b:down after the demo."
+    desc: "E8b — LIVE on-demand demo bring-up (COSTS MONEY; DECIDED-B on-demand, ephemeral-by-default — a standing go-live substrate is a separate recorded and time-boxed carve-out, D-042/E1g-S07). Composes the E1g GSK substrate, re-syncs the GitOps app-of-apps, waits healthy. Tear down with e8b:down after the demo."
     env:
       KUBECONFIG: '{{.KUBECONFIG}}'
     cmds:
@@ -448,7 +449,9 @@ tasks:
       - |
         set -euo pipefail
         # The demo surfaces are GitOps-managed on the ephemeral GSK cluster, so
-        # destroying the gridscale substrate reclaims everything. No standing env.
+        # destroying the gridscale substrate reclaims everything. The demo is
+        # ephemeral-by-default; a standing go-live substrate is a separate
+        # recorded and time-boxed carve-out (D-042 / E1g-S07), not this cycle.
         task e1g:down
         echo "E8b demo torn down (gridscale substrate destroyed via e1g:down)."
 
diff --git a/docs/ROADMAP.md b/docs/ROADMAP.md
index 84cc79b..78d5ce7 100644
--- a/docs/ROADMAP.md
+++ b/docs/ROADMAP.md
@@ -409,10 +409,19 @@ reviewer path.
 **Runbook:** [gridscale-live-demo.md](runbooks/gridscale-live-demo.md)
 
 DECIDED-B (operator-approved): E8b ships as a reproducible **on-demand** bring-up
-(`task e8b:up` / `e8b:down`), proven ephemerally — **not a standing environment**
-(the ruthless-teardown cost rule holds; the "interview window" is
-operator-triggered). Offline-authored below; live bring-up/serve pending the live
-cycle.
+(`task e8b:up` / `e8b:down`), proven ephemerally — the ruthless-teardown cost rule
+holds by default and the "interview window" is operator-triggered.
+
+**Go-live carve-out (D-042, supersedes the dev-phase absolute):** the project has
+entered go-live, where a standing live substrate is intentionally permitted — but
+**only when it is recorded and time-boxed**: what is up and since-when are captured
+in `evidence/live/e1g-gsk-2026-07-18.md`; the teardown-by date and owner (with the
+~1–2 week go-live window) will be captured in decision **D-042** (operator-placed)
+and surfaced by **E1g-S07** (`task e1g:status`, soft WARN).
+This does **not** make "always-on" acceptable and does **not** weaken the
+create→verify→destroy discipline for per-story live proofs — the ephemeral
+`e8b:up`/`e8b:down` cycle stays ephemeral-by-default. Offline-authored below; live
+bring-up/serve pending the live cycle.
 
 | ID | Story | Status |
 | --- | --- | --- |
diff --git a/docs/development/DEVELOPMENT.md b/docs/development/DEVELOPMENT.md
index 3bb2370..fd4412b 100644
--- a/docs/development/DEVELOPMENT.md
+++ b/docs/development/DEVELOPMENT.md
@@ -39,6 +39,11 @@ task lint     # markdown + shellcheck
 Implementation lanes add `task test` (L0–L2), promtool, and cluster integration checks per
 story — see [testing.md](testing.md) for the full matrix and the CI workflows that run it.
 
+The go-live standing-substrate policy (a standing live env is permitted when **recorded and
+time-boxed** — D-042, `tests/meta/e1g-standing-policy.yaml`, surfaced by E1g-S07's soft
+`task e1g:status` WARN) is **cost-governance, not a blocker**: the doc-truth guard only reddens
+on an unreconciled unqualified "no standing env" absolute, never on the substrate being up.
+
 ## Testing
 
 Mandatory TDD — see [testing.md](testing.md) and ADR-0701. Summary:
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/gridscale-day0.md b/docs/runbooks/gridscale-day0.md
index ad8b474..d148e33 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/gridscale-day0.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/gridscale-day0.md
@@ -158,6 +158,17 @@ object-storage anchor is destroyed last because it holds the remote state; if
 you want to keep the anchor between tests (cheapest option) destroy only the
 workload stacks and leave `object-storage` up.
 
+**Go-live standing carve-out (D-042).** The dev-phase "tear it all down every
+time" rule was an overspend guard for the build phase. In **go-live** a standing
+live substrate is intentionally permitted — but **only when it is
+recorded and time-boxed**: what is up and since-when are captured in
+`evidence/live/e1g-gsk-2026-07-18.md`; the teardown-by date and owner (with the
+~1–2 week go-live window) will be captured in decision **D-042** (operator-placed)
+and surfaced by **E1g-S07** (`task e1g:status`, a soft WARN once the default ~14-day
+window is exceeded). This is cost-governance, not a blocker, and it does
+**not** relax the ruthless per-test teardown above — that stays the default; the
+carve-out covers only the one sanctioned, recorded standing substrate.
+
 ## Phase-1 ↔ phase-2 deltas
 
 - **Substrate**: phase-1 kind cluster → phase-2 GSK managed cluster. Same
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/gridscale-live-demo.md b/docs/runbooks/gridscale-live-demo.md
index 9419f42..a479b75 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/gridscale-live-demo.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/gridscale-live-demo.md
@@ -6,18 +6,38 @@ demo (e.g. an interview walkthrough), show the read-only demo surfaces, then
 runbook ([gridscale-day0.md](gridscale-day0.md)) — read that first; this runbook
 only adds the demo layer and the demo choreography.
 
-## Framing — on-demand, NOT standing (DECIDED-B)
+## Framing — on-demand by default (DECIDED-B, reconciled by D-042)
 
 The E8b story was originally phrased as "keep the gridscale stack running through
 the interview window". That contradicts the project's ruthless-teardown cost
 rule (the gridscale GSK cluster + LBaaS cost real money every hour they are up).
 
 **Reconciled, operator-approved definition:** E8b is a **reproducible on-demand
-bring-up**, proven ephemerally — **not a standing environment**. The "interview
-window" is an **operator-triggered** `task e8b:up` … demo … `task e8b:down`
-cycle, run just before the demo and torn down immediately after. It is **not
-always-on** infra. If you need it live for a 30-minute interview, bring it up 10
-minutes before and tear it down the moment you are done.
+bring-up**, proven ephemerally. The "interview window" is an
+**operator-triggered** `task e8b:up` … demo … `task e8b:down` cycle, run just
+before the demo and torn down immediately after — it is **not always-on** infra.
+If you need it live for a 30-minute interview, bring it up 10 minutes before and
+tear it down the moment you are done.
+
+### Go-live standing carve-out (D-042, supersedes the dev-phase absolute)
+
+The dev-phase DECIDED-B rule treated a standing environment as forbidden — an
+overspend guard for the build phase, now superseded for go-live (see below).
+The project has now entered **go-live**,
+where a standing live substrate is intentional (planned ~1–2 weeks, decision
+**D-042**). Under go-live a standing substrate is permitted, but **only when it
+is recorded and time-boxed**:
+
+- **recorded** — what is up and since-when are captured in
+  `evidence/live/e1g-gsk-2026-07-18.md`; the teardown-by date and owner will be
+  captured in decision **D-042** (operator-placed) and surfaced by **E1g-S07**; and
+- **time-boxed** — an explicit teardown deadline, surfaced by **E1g-S07**
+  (`task e1g:status`, a soft WARN once the default ~14-day window is exceeded).
+
+This carve-out is cost-governance, not a licence for "always-on": it does **not**
+declare standing infra always fine, and it does **not** weaken the ephemeral
+`e8b:up`/`e8b:down` demo cycle or the per-story create→verify→destroy live-proof
+discipline, both of which stay ephemeral-by-default.
 
 ## TL;DR
 
@@ -133,9 +153,11 @@ pool keeps billing).
 
 The demo runs on the same GSK node pool + LBaaS + public IPs as E1g (see the cost
 table in [gridscale-day0.md](gridscale-day0.md) — the GSK node pool dominates).
-Because E8b is **on-demand, not standing**, the cost is bounded to the minutes the
-demo actually runs. **Always `task e8b:down` immediately after the demo.** Never
-leave the demo up "just in case" — bring it up again on demand next time.
+Because the E8b demo is **on-demand and ephemeral-by-default**, its cost is bounded
+to the minutes the demo actually runs. **Always `task e8b:down` immediately after
+the demo.** Never leave the demo up "just in case" — bring it up again on demand
+next time. (A deliberately *standing* go-live substrate is a separate, recorded and
+time-boxed carve-out — see the go-live carve-out above and D-042.)
 
 ## Read-only posture (why the demo is safe to expose)
 
diff --git a/openspec/changes/e1g-gridscale-day0/tasks.md b/openspec/changes/e1g-gridscale-day0/tasks.md
index cf24d38..8d98bac 100644
--- a/openspec/changes/e1g-gridscale-day0/tasks.md
+++ b/openspec/changes/e1g-gridscale-day0/tasks.md
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ later serialized step (`task e1g:up`). See docs/runbooks/gridscale-day0.md.
   - [ ] E1g-S05g: Cloudflare DNS records → LBaaS IPs + LE staging→prod + live public serve verify — depends S05c/S05e/S05f
   - [ ] E1g-S05h: **Security spike** — investigate + mitigate GSK worker-node public-IP exposure (node came up EXTERNAL-IP `185.241.34.168`; `gridscale_k8s ~>2.2` exposes no disable-public-IP arg — confirm provider/API limit + safe mitigation)
   - Build order: **S05a → S05d → S05b → S05c → (S05e ∥ S05f) → S05g.** S05h is an independent security spike (no dep).
-  - [ ] E1g-S06: Reconcile the retired "no standing env" DECIDED-B prose → go-live recorded+time-boxed carve-out (INBOX/ROADMAP/runbooks/Taskfile e8b strings) + offline doc-truth guard `tests/meta/e1g-standing-policy.yaml`; forward-refs S07 + D-04x. Doc-truth/cost-governance, NOT a blocker. Closes audit WIP-D1 (doc half). Body in `agent-context/BACKLOG.md` § "Go-live cost governance".
+  - [x] E1g-S06: Reconcile the retired "no standing env" DECIDED-B prose → go-live recorded+time-boxed carve-out (ROADMAP/both gridscale runbooks/Taskfile e8b desc+comment strings; INBOX left to the edge session) + offline doc-truth guard `tests/meta/e1g-standing-policy.yaml` wired into `test:meta:ci`; forward-refs S07 + D-042 + `evidence/live/e1g-gsk-2026-07-18.md`. Doc-truth/cost-governance, NOT a blocker. Closes audit WIP-D1 (doc half). Body in `agent-context/BACKLOG.md` § "Go-live cost governance".
   - [ ] E1g-S07: Cost-visibility standing marker + `task e1g:status` + SOFT time-box WARN guardrail (~14d default, always exit 0, absent=no-op) wired into `test:meta:ci`; `task verify` EXIT 0 even with a stale marker (softness proof). Closes audit WIP-D1 (TTL half). Depends S06.
 - [x] Gate: `task test:smoke:e1g` (offline) — EXIT 0
 - [ ] Live-proof: `task e1g:up` then re-sync app-of-apps (later serialized step, costs money)
diff --git a/tests/meta/e1g-standing-policy.yaml b/tests/meta/e1g-standing-policy.yaml
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..9b84bac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/meta/e1g-standing-policy.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# E1g-S06 — go-live standing-substrate doc-truth guard (offline; WIP-D1).
+#
+# The dev-phase DECIDED-B rule ("on-demand, NOT standing / No standing env") was
+# an overspend guard for the BUILD phase. The project is now in go-live (D-042),
+# where a standing live substrate is intentional — permitted ONLY when it is
+# RECORDED (what is up, since-when, teardown-by, owner) and TIME-BOXED (explicit
+# teardown deadline), surfaced by E1g-S07's `task e1g:status` soft WARN.
+#
+# This guard keeps that reconciliation honest offline:
+#   (a) the go-live "recorded and time-boxed" carve-out phrasing is PRESENT in
+#       each governed durable home; and
+#   (b) no governed doc silently reintroduces an UNQUALIFIED standing-env
+#       absolute (an absolute with no go-live/recorded/time-boxed/carve-out
+#       qualifier nearby).
+# It scans ONLY durable docs — never agent-context/ (coordination, not truth).
+# Asserts on prose STRINGS, never line numbers (matches doc10-roadmap-status).
+# Known limitation: the ABSOLUTE pattern matches only the specific removed
+# phrasings ("no standing env" / "not a standing environment" / "NOT standing").
+# A reworded regression (e.g. "no standing infrastructure") is out of scope by
+# design — the guard closes the exact reconciled contradiction, not every synonym.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../.." && pwd)"
+ROADMAP="$ROOT/docs/ROADMAP.md"
+LIVEDEMO="$ROOT/docs/runbooks/gridscale-live-demo.md"
+DAY0="$ROOT/docs/runbooks/gridscale-day0.md"
+TASKFILE="$ROOT/Taskfile.yml"
+
+fail() { echo "FAIL: $*" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+# Stable phrase the reconcile introduces everywhere the carve-out is stated.
+CARVEOUT='recorded and time-boxed'
+# The dev-phase absolutes that, UNQUALIFIED, contradict the go-live carve-out.
+ABSOLUTE='no standing env|not a standing environment|NOT standing'
+# Qualifiers that make a standing statement a legitimate carve-out, not a false
+# absolute (go-live permits a recorded, time-boxed standing substrate).
+QUALIFIER='go-live|recorded|time-boxed|carve-out|D-042'
+
+# --- (a) carve-out phrasing PRESENT in each governed durable home ------------
+for DOC in "$ROADMAP" "$LIVEDEMO" "$DAY0"; do
+  [ -f "$DOC" ] || fail "governed doc missing: $DOC"
+  grep -qiF "$CARVEOUT" "$DOC" \
+    || fail "$DOC must state the go-live '$CARVEOUT' standing carve-out"
+done
+
+# The carve-out must forward-reference the enforcement story + the decision/record.
+grep -qiF 'E1g-S07' "$LIVEDEMO" \
+  || fail "gridscale-live-demo.md carve-out must forward-reference E1g-S07 (soft WARN time-box)"
+grep -qiF 'D-042' "$LIVEDEMO" \
+  || fail "gridscale-live-demo.md carve-out must cite the D-042 go-live decision"
+grep -qiF 'e1g-gsk-2026-07-18' "$LIVEDEMO" \
+  || fail "gridscale-live-demo.md carve-out must cite the evidence/live record"
+
+# --- (b) no UNQUALIFIED standing-env absolute in any governed doc ------------
+# A line carrying an absolute is only OK if it also carries a go-live qualifier.
+for DOC in "$ROADMAP" "$LIVEDEMO" "$DAY0" "$TASKFILE"; do
+  [ -f "$DOC" ] || fail "governed doc missing: $DOC"
+  if grep -iE "$ABSOLUTE" "$DOC" | grep -qivE "$QUALIFIER"; then
+    grep -inE "$ABSOLUTE" "$DOC" | grep -ivE "$QUALIFIER" >&2 || true
+    fail "$DOC carries an UNQUALIFIED standing-env absolute (add a $QUALIFIER carve-out qualifier, or reconcile the line)"
+  fi
+done
+
+echo "OK: E1g-S06 go-live standing-substrate doc-truth (recorded + time-boxed carve-out)"