diff --git a/docs/current-handoff.md b/docs/current-handoff.md
index 4fe805a..67854ea 100644
--- a/docs/current-handoff.md
+++ b/docs/current-handoff.md
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ If YES, the next live experiment is one timed/costed OpenAI UI investigation mea
 - The OpenAI provider now honors a caller-supplied structured-output schema, applying its existing strict-schema transport projection; absent an alternate schema, initial reconstruction retains its existing strict schema and transport normalization.
 - The next live run exposed incomplete recursive strict projection: OpenAI rejected `relationships.items` because it lacked `additionalProperties: false`. The projector now recognizes every `type: "object"` node, including property-less objects in array items, and recursively enforces strict object schemas while preserving initial-reconstruction optionality/nullability behavior.
 - The latest Terra request then exposed an inconsistent root `properties`/`required` contract. The projector now derives `required` after projection from the surviving property keys, and recursive tests verify `properties`, `required`, and `additionalProperties` consistency. Property-less object strictness and initial-reconstruction transport behavior remain preserved.
-- Provider and focused-route suites pass with zero live calls.
-- Next boundary: retry one fresh real Playwright-driven OpenAI/Terra investigation; do not reuse the failed focused-deconstruction attempt.
+- Current deterministic final-fetch schema remains internally valid, yet the live rejection contradicts it. `CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA=1` now emits one safe, server-side structural summary immediately before the OpenAI fetch—no prompt, answer, request body, secret, or model output.
+- Provider suite passes with zero live calls. Next boundary: one fresh focused UI submission with the OpenAI provider and schema-trace flags enabled; capture the single trace and OpenAI response, with no Retry.
 
 ## Repository checkpoint
 
diff --git a/lib/llm/provider.js b/lib/llm/provider.js
index 2ac5dea..ef3987d 100644
--- a/lib/llm/provider.js
+++ b/lib/llm/provider.js
@@ -195,6 +195,55 @@ function projectOpenAIStrictSchema(schema, zodSchema, rootSchema, visited) {
   }
 }
 
+function satisfiesOpenAIStrictSchema(schema, visited = new WeakSet()) {
+  if (!schema || typeof schema !== "object" || visited.has(schema)) return true;
+  visited.add(schema);
+  const isObject = schema.type === "object" || schema.properties;
+  if (isObject && schema.additionalProperties !== false) return false;
+  if (schema.properties) {
+    const propertyKeys = Object.keys(schema.properties);
+    if (
+      !Array.isArray(schema.required) ||
+      schema.required.length !== propertyKeys.length ||
+      !propertyKeys.every((key) => schema.required.includes(key))
+    ) return false;
+  }
+  return [
+    schema.items,
+    ...Object.values(schema.properties ?? {}),
+    ...(schema.anyOf ?? []),
+    ...(schema.oneOf ?? []),
+    ...(schema.allOf ?? []),
+    ...Object.values(schema.$defs ?? schema.definitions ?? {}),
+  ].every((child) => satisfiesOpenAIStrictSchema(child, visited));
+}
+
+function traceOpenAISchema({ model, format, schema }) {
+  if (process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA !== "1") return;
+  const serializedSchema = JSON.stringify(schema);
+  const finalSchema = JSON.parse(serializedSchema);
+  const properties = finalSchema.properties ?? {};
+  const required = finalSchema.required ?? [];
+  const relationships = properties.relationships;
+  console.info("[confidence-engine][openai-schema-trace]", {
+    model,
+    formatType: format.type,
+    formatName: format.name,
+    strict: format.strict,
+    rootProperties: Object.keys(properties),
+    rootRequired: required,
+    rootSetsEqual:
+      required.length === Object.keys(properties).length &&
+      Object.keys(properties).every((key) => required.includes(key)),
+    relationshipsInProperties: Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(properties, "relationships"),
+    relationshipsInRequired: required.includes("relationships"),
+    relationshipsItemType: relationships?.items?.type ?? null,
+    relationshipsItemAdditionalProperties: relationships?.items?.additionalProperties ?? null,
+    rootAdditionalProperties: finalSchema.additionalProperties ?? null,
+    recursiveStrictInvariant: satisfiesOpenAIStrictSchema(finalSchema),
+  });
+}
+
 function schemaAllowsNull(schema, rootSchema) {
   const resolved = resolveSchema(schema, rootSchema);
   return (
@@ -479,6 +528,13 @@ class OpenAIReconstructionProvider {
       ? createOpenAIStrictSchema(outputSchema, null)
       : openAIReconstructionJsonSchema;
 
+    const format = {
+      type: "json_schema",
+      name: "reconstruction",
+      strict: true,
+      schema: structuredOutputSchema,
+    };
+    traceOpenAISchema({ model: modelName, format, schema: structuredOutputSchema });
     const response = await this.fetchImpl("https://api.openai.com/v1/responses", {
       method: "POST",
       headers: {
@@ -489,12 +545,7 @@ class OpenAIReconstructionProvider {
         model: modelName,
         input: prompt,
         text: {
-          format: {
-            type: "json_schema",
-            name: "reconstruction",
-            strict: true,
-            schema: structuredOutputSchema,
-          },
+          format,
         },
       }),
     });
diff --git a/tests/llm/provider.test.js b/tests/llm/provider.test.js
index 9d85d2d..1e925c2 100644
--- a/tests/llm/provider.test.js
+++ b/tests/llm/provider.test.js
@@ -194,6 +194,9 @@ describe("OpenAI reconstruction provider experiment seam", () => {
     if (!schema || typeof schema !== "object" || visited.has(schema)) return;
     visited.add(schema);
 
+    if (schema.type === "object" && !schema.properties) {
+      expect(schema.additionalProperties).toBe(false);
+    }
     if (schema.properties) {
       expect(schema.additionalProperties).toBe(false);
       expect(new Set(schema.required)).toEqual(new Set(Object.keys(schema.properties)));
@@ -352,6 +355,8 @@ describe("OpenAI reconstruction provider experiment seam", () => {
     );
     const request = JSON.parse(fetchSpy.mock.calls[0][1].body);
     const schema = request.text.format.schema;
+    const serializedSchema = JSON.stringify(schema);
+    const reparsedSchema = JSON.parse(serializedSchema);
 
     expect(schema.required).toEqual([
       "targetNodeId",
@@ -379,6 +384,69 @@ describe("OpenAI reconstruction provider experiment seam", () => {
     expect(schema.properties).toHaveProperty("relationships");
     expect(schema.required).toContain("relationships");
     assertStrictObjectInvariant(schema);
+    expect(Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(schema.properties, "relationships")).toBe(true);
+    expect(reparsedSchema.required).toEqual(schema.required);
+    expect(Object.keys(reparsedSchema.properties)).toEqual(Object.keys(schema.properties));
+    expect(Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(reparsedSchema.properties, "relationships")).toBe(true);
+    expect(reparsedSchema.properties.relationships).toEqual(schema.properties.relationships);
+    expect(reparsedSchema.additionalProperties).toBe(false);
+    assertStrictObjectInvariant(reparsedSchema);
+  });
+
+  it("emits one safe final-schema trace only when explicitly enabled", async () => {
+    const previousTraceFlag = process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA;
+    const infoSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "info").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const fetchSpy = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+      ok: true,
+      json: async () => ({ output_text: JSON.stringify({
+        targetNodeId: "target", observations: [], uncertainties: [], assumptions: [], relationships: [], possibleFollowUpQuestions: [],
+      }) }),
+    });
+    process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA = "1";
+
+    try {
+      const provider = createOpenAIReconstructionProvider({ apiKey: "test-key", fetchImpl: fetchSpy });
+      await provider.generateReconstruction("focused prompt", "gpt-5.6-terra", focusedDeconstructJsonSchema);
+      expect(infoSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      const [label, trace] = infoSpy.mock.calls[0];
+      expect(label).toBe("[confidence-engine][openai-schema-trace]");
+      expect(trace).toMatchObject({
+        model: "gpt-5.6-terra",
+        formatType: "json_schema",
+        formatName: "reconstruction",
+        strict: true,
+        rootSetsEqual: true,
+        relationshipsInProperties: true,
+        relationshipsInRequired: true,
+        relationshipsItemAdditionalProperties: false,
+        rootAdditionalProperties: false,
+        recursiveStrictInvariant: true,
+      });
+      expect(JSON.stringify(trace)).not.toContain("focused prompt");
+    } finally {
+      infoSpy.mockRestore();
+      if (previousTraceFlag === undefined) delete process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA;
+      else process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA = previousTraceFlag;
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("does not emit a schema trace when the flag is absent", async () => {
+    const previousTraceFlag = process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA;
+    const infoSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "info").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    delete process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA;
+    const provider = createOpenAIReconstructionProvider({
+      apiKey: "test-key",
+      fetchImpl: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ ok: true, json: async () => ({ output_text: "{}" }) }),
+    });
+
+    try {
+      await provider.generateReconstruction("prompt");
+      expect(infoSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    } finally {
+      infoSpy.mockRestore();
+      if (previousTraceFlag === undefined) delete process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA;
+      else process.env.CONFIDENCE_ENGINE_EXPERIMENT_TRACE_OPENAI_SCHEMA = previousTraceFlag;
+    }
   });
 
   it("recursively projects arbitrary nested object schemas as strict", () => {