diff --git a/tools/orion-ref-gate/index.test.ts b/tools/orion-ref-gate/index.test.ts
index e04bc84e..f96f9ca2 100644
--- a/tools/orion-ref-gate/index.test.ts
+++ b/tools/orion-ref-gate/index.test.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
 	findViolations,
 	isCarveOut,
 	lineHasToken,
+	REMEDIATION_DOC,
 	runOnce,
 } from "./index.ts";
 
@@ -159,7 +160,16 @@ describe("runOnce", () => {
 		expect(code).toBe(1);
 		const e = errs.join("\n");
 		expect(e).toContain("docs/x.md:7");
-		expect(e).toContain("skill://private-repo-boundary");
+		expect(e).toContain("the managed service");
+		expect(e).toContain(REMEDIATION_DOC);
+	});
+
+	test("the doc cited in the failure hint exists", async () => {
+		// Resolved from this file, not the cwd, so the assertion holds under any
+		// invocation. Without it the hint can silently die in a docs move —
+		// the defect this pointer was repaired for.
+		const abs = new URL(`../../${REMEDIATION_DOC}`, import.meta.url);
+		expect(await Bun.file(abs).exists()).toBe(true);
 	});
 
 	test("returns 2 on a scan error (fail closed)", async () => {
diff --git a/tools/orion-ref-gate/index.ts b/tools/orion-ref-gate/index.ts
index 2d7d9350..2bcc2811 100644
--- a/tools/orion-ref-gate/index.ts
+++ b/tools/orion-ref-gate/index.ts
@@ -77,6 +77,20 @@ export const CARVEOUT_PATHS: readonly string[] = ["bun.lock"];
  */
 export const ALLOWLIST: Readonly<Record<string, string>> = {};
 
+/**
+ * The in-repo doc stating the boundary rule, cited in the failure hint. Named
+ * here so the test can assert the file actually exists: a bare string would
+ * let a docs move silently kill the pointer again — the exact defect this
+ * hint was repaired for. Wording tracks its "Never name or point at the
+ * private repo" bullet; update both together. This path also appears in
+ * `moon.yml` as an input of the `test` task — that declaration is what makes
+ * moon's cache re-run the assertion when the doc changes, so move both. Note
+ * a pull_request selects targets by project, so any PR not touching this
+ * project's own tree does not select this gate at all — including its leak
+ * scan — and relies on the main/nightly full sweep (see moon.yml).
+ */
+export const REMEDIATION_DOC = "docs/concepts/self-host-and-managed.md";
+
 /** One scanned line carrying the token. */
 export interface Reference {
 	readonly file: string;
@@ -154,7 +168,9 @@ export async function runOnce(deps: Deps): Promise<number> {
 			deps.err(`  ${v.file}:${v.line}: ${v.text.trim()}`);
 		deps.err(
 			"A public repo must not name, cite, or quote the private internal monorepo. " +
-				"Refer to it by architectural role instead (see skill://private-repo-boundary).",
+				'Refer to it by architectural role instead — say "the managed service", or ' +
+				"describe the core capability directly so it need not be named. " +
+				`See ${REMEDIATION_DOC}.`,
 		);
 		return 1;
 	}
diff --git a/tools/orion-ref-gate/moon.yml b/tools/orion-ref-gate/moon.yml
index be557f57..5f998e7d 100644
--- a/tools/orion-ref-gate/moon.yml
+++ b/tools/orion-ref-gate/moon.yml
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@
 # lint/format are whole-repo tasks on the root project (/moon.yml), so this
 # leaf has no own bun.lock and never runs its own install.
 #
-# Compass CI is a single moon-driven `CI` job (.github/workflows/ci.yml runs
-# `moon run :ci`), so the `ci` aggregate below is swept automatically.
+# Compass CI runs a per-concern matrix, not one job: tools/ci-matrix computes
+# the targets and .github/workflows/ci.yml runs `moon run <targets>`, so this
+# project's `ci` aggregate is swept only when the matrix selects it.
 layer: 'tool'
 language: 'typescript'
 tags: ['bun', 'ci-group.bun']
@@ -19,7 +20,37 @@ tasks:
     deps: ['install']
     inputs: ['*.ts', 'tsconfig.json', '/tsconfig.base.json', 'package.json', '/bun.lock']
   test:
-    inputs: ['*.ts', 'tsconfig.json', '/tsconfig.base.json', 'package.json', '/bun.lock']
+    # `/docs/concepts/self-host-and-managed.md` is a real input: a test asserts
+    # the doc cited in the failure hint still exists, so the cache key must
+    # track it. Without it moon replays a green after the doc is deleted —
+    # the same silent-pointer-death this gate's hint was repaired for. Scoped
+    # to the one cited file, not `/docs/**`, so unrelated docs edits don't
+    # re-run the suite. Keep in sync with `REMEDIATION_DOC` in index.ts.
+    #
+    # That declaration governs moon's CACHE, not CI's task selection: on a
+    # pull_request, tools/ci-matrix selects targets via `moon query projects
+    # --affected`, which walks the project graph and never consults a
+    # cross-tree input (see the discriminator note in
+    # .github/workflows/ci.yml). KNOWN GAP, and it is not docs-specific: ANY
+    # PR that does not touch this project's own tree fails to select it, since
+    # the `check` scan's `/**/*` input is cross-tree the same way. A Go-only
+    # or docs-only PR that ADDS a private-repo reference is therefore not
+    # gated on that PR; the doc pointer going stale is the mild case. The
+    # backstop is ci.yml's unconditional push + nightly full sweep, which does
+    # run the scan to a real verdict. `dependsOn: ['root']` would close the
+    # PR-time gap — root's source is `.`, so every path marks it affected and
+    # `--downstream direct` would pull this project in — but for the same
+    # reason it would run the gate on EVERY PR, since moon edges are
+    # project-level rather than file-level. sql-migration-gate declines the
+    # same edge, though its gap is narrower (two root-level configs).
+    # Tracked as RIG-3381.
+    inputs:
+      - '*.ts'
+      - 'tsconfig.json'
+      - '/tsconfig.base.json'
+      - 'package.json'
+      - '/bun.lock'
+      - '/docs/concepts/self-host-and-managed.md'
   check:
     # The boundary gate: scan the whole tracked tree (via git grep) for any
     # reference to the private monorepo. Run from the workspace root so the