diff --git a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
index 60738a3..aab78f8 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
       "name": "lcd",
       "source": "./",
       "description": "Lean Context Development — adaptive-weight agentic dev methodology (Quick / Standard / Deep lanes).",
-      "version": "0.20.0"
+      "version": "0.20.1"
     }
   ]
 }
diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index d9ace34..3a3c607 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/claude-code-plugin-manifest.json",
   "name": "lcd",
   "displayName": "Lean Context Development",
-  "version": "0.20.0",
+  "version": "0.20.1",
   "description": "Context-economy agentic dev methodology: process weight adapts to the work (Quick / Standard / Deep lanes) and durable artifacts make a context reset cheap.",
   "author": {
     "name": "stid"
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 95d1584..e853429 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,23 @@ All notable changes to this project are documented here. Format loosely follows
 Development is tracked by decision IDs (`D-NNN`) in the project's internal decision log; entries
 cite them for traceability.
 
+## [0.20.1] — 2026-10-24
+
+### Fixed
+- **Edit-boundary hook** checks `NotebookEdit`, whose path arrives as
+  `tool_input.notebook_path`. Before this, notebook edits outside the boundary were allowed. It
+  also resolves `.` and `..` before matching: `src/x/../../docs/y` is checked as `docs/y`,
+  and a newline in the path can't cut the resolution short (#21).
+- **The AC convention now actually auto-loads (#22).** Plugins have no rules component, so the
+  plugin's `ac-convention` never loaded on its own. Onboard now always writes the project copy
+  `.claude/rules/ac-convention.md`. If a copy exists whose `paths:` doesn't cover the artifact
+  root, onboard rewrites that one line. Doctor checks the copy at every root: WARN on the
+  default root (projects onboarded earlier: re-run `/lcd:onboard`), FAIL on a custom root as
+  before. Coverage is judged on the `paths:` globs (`"<root>/**"`), so root `docs` no longer
+  passes on the stock `docs/lcd` globs. Docs no longer claim the plugin copy auto-loads.
+- **Boundary-hook tests:** the fixture's branch switch-back failed silently in a repo with no
+  commits, so every later case ran with no active work-item and passed without testing anything.
+
 ## [0.20.0] — 2026-10-24
 
 Vendoring: LCD frozen into a project, so contributors get it by cloning, no plugin install.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a94a60e..a33eb7a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -160,7 +160,8 @@ All namespaced under `lcd:` (e.g. `/lcd:plan`).
 
 LCD **bundles** the rules its lanes depend on (`testing`, `no-overengineering`, `no-downgrade`,
 `refinement-protocol`, `versioning`, `commits`, `ac-convention`) so it works on any project without
-relying on your machine's global config. A project may override any rule with its own
+relying on your machine's global config. Onboarding copies `ac-convention` into the project's
+`.claude/rules/` so it auto-loads on specs and JOURNALs. A project may override any rule with its own
 `.claude/rules/<name>.md`.
 
 The project-side artifacts (MAP, DECISIONS, JOURNAL, SPEC) are plain Markdown and tool-agnostic:
diff --git a/bin/lcd-boundary-check.sh b/bin/lcd-boundary-check.sh
index dcb092c..071b503 100755
--- a/bin/lcd-boundary-check.sh
+++ b/bin/lcd-boundary-check.sh
@@ -18,13 +18,34 @@ input="$(cat)"
 lcd_resolve_project || exit 0
 
 file_path="$(lcd_json_field "$input" "tool_input.file_path")"
+# NotebookEdit names its target notebook_path, not file_path.
+[[ -n "$file_path" ]] || file_path="$(lcd_json_field "$input" "tool_input.notebook_path")"
 [[ -n "$file_path" ]] || exit 0
 
+# resolve_dots <abs-path> — drop `.` and resolve `..` lexically (the file may not exist yet),
+# so `src/x/../../docs/y` is matched as `docs/y`, not as a path under src/.
+resolve_dots() {
+  # Split on / by word splitting, not `read` (which stops at a newline and would resolve only
+  # the first line of the path). set -f: a segment like `*` must not glob.
+  local part parts out=() IFS=/
+  set -f; parts=($1); set +f
+  for part in ${parts[@]+"${parts[@]}"}; do
+    case "$part" in
+      ""|.) ;;
+      ..) [[ ${#out[@]} -gt 0 ]] && unset 'out[${#out[@]}-1]' ;;
+      *) out+=("$part") ;;
+    esac
+  done
+  printf '/%s' ${out[@]+"${out[@]}"}
+}
+
 # Normalize to project-relative; paths outside the project are not ours to police.
+[[ "$file_path" == /* ]] || file_path="$LCD_PROJ/$file_path"
+file_path="$(resolve_dots "$file_path")"
+proj_abs="$(resolve_dots "$LCD_PROJ")"
 case "$file_path" in
-  "$LCD_PROJ"/*) rel="${file_path#"$LCD_PROJ"/}" ;;
-  /*) exit 0 ;;
-  *) rel="$file_path" ;;
+  "$proj_abs"/*) rel="${file_path#"$proj_abs"/}" ;;
+  *) exit 0 ;;
 esac
 
 # Always-allowed: LCD's own artifacts and project Claude config.
diff --git a/bin/lcd-doctor.sh b/bin/lcd-doctor.sh
index 4b87b9a..18fd1e0 100755
--- a/bin/lcd-doctor.sh
+++ b/bin/lcd-doctor.sh
@@ -93,14 +93,18 @@ if [[ -n "$root" ]] && ! is_placeholder "$root"; then
       || warn "living-spec: on but $specrel missing — reconcile has nowhere to fold (seed it from the living-spec template, or set living-spec: off)"
   fi
 
-  # B1 invariant: non-default root needs the project-local ac-convention override.
-  if [[ "$root" != "docs/lcd" ]]; then
-    acf="$proj/.claude/rules/ac-convention.md"
-    if [[ -f "$acf" ]] && grep -q "$root" "$acf"; then
-      ok "ac-convention: project override present for non-default root"
-    else
-      fail "ac-convention: artifact-root is '$root' but no project override at .claude/rules/ac-convention.md covers it — the AC rule will never auto-load (re-run /lcd:onboard)"
-    fi
+  # B1 invariant: the AC rule auto-loads only from a project copy — plugins have no rules/
+  # component. FAIL on a non-default root (as before); WARN on the default root, so projects
+  # onboarded before onboard wrote the copy don't start failing the gate.
+  # Coverage is judged on the paths: globs alone — a bare substring would let root `docs`
+  # pass on the stock `"docs/lcd/**…"` globs, which never match docs/work/<slug>/spec.md.
+  acf="$proj/.claude/rules/ac-convention.md"
+  if [[ -f "$acf" ]] && grep -m1 '^paths:' "$acf" | grep -qF "\"$root/**"; then
+    ok "ac-convention: project copy covers $root"
+  elif [[ "$root" != "docs/lcd" ]]; then
+    fail "ac-convention: artifact-root is '$root' but no project override at .claude/rules/ac-convention.md covers it — the AC rule will never auto-load (re-run /lcd:onboard)"
+  else
+    warn "ac-convention: no .claude/rules/ac-convention.md covering $root — the AC rule never auto-loads from the plugin (re-run /lcd:onboard to write it)"
   fi
 fi
 
diff --git a/commands/doctor.md b/commands/doctor.md
index 9eadb94..c60bcd1 100644
--- a/commands/doctor.md
+++ b/commands/doctor.md
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ artifacts).
        `/lcd:onboard` (retrofit mode re-detects and fills the block in place).
      - watch-mode test commands (`vitest` without `run`, `jest` without `--watchAll=false`) →
        edit the key to the non-watch form; this is what hangs the red-green loop.
-     - missing `ac-convention` override on a non-default artifact root → re-run
-       `/lcd:onboard` (it writes `.claude/rules/ac-convention.md` with the right globs).
+     - missing `.claude/rules/ac-convention.md` (WARN on the default root, FAIL on a custom
+       one) → re-run `/lcd:onboard`; it writes the copy with the right globs.
 
 3. **Fix only on approval**, then re-run the script to confirm it goes green.
 
diff --git a/rules/ac-convention.md b/rules/ac-convention.md
index f59cea7..8562a1e 100644
--- a/rules/ac-convention.md
+++ b/rules/ac-convention.md
@@ -3,12 +3,10 @@ paths: ["docs/lcd/**/spec.md", "docs/lcd/**/JOURNAL.md"]
 ---
 # Acceptance Criteria Convention
 
-> The AC convention for LCD. `paths:` covers the **default** artifact root (`docs/lcd/**`), so this
-> rule auto-loads when you open a spec or JOURNAL there. If a project chose a different
-> `artifact-root` at onboarding, `/lcd:onboard` writes a project-local copy of this rule to
-> `.claude/rules/ac-convention.md` with `paths:` globs derived from that root (a project rule
-> overrides the bundled one of the same name). Used in the Deep lane and in any Standard-lane
-> JOURNAL that declares a surface.
+> The AC convention for LCD. Plugins can't ship auto-loading rules, so `/lcd:onboard` writes a
+> copy of this file to the project's `.claude/rules/ac-convention.md`, where the `paths:` scope
+> makes it auto-load when you open a spec or JOURNAL (globs rewritten for a non-default
+> `artifact-root`). Used in the Deep lane and in any Standard-lane JOURNAL that declares a surface.
 
 Every acceptance criterion in a work-item `spec.md` (or a Standard-lane `JOURNAL.md`) MUST follow this format:
 
diff --git a/rules/lcd.md b/rules/lcd.md
index 13ffb1d..9d07209 100644
--- a/rules/lcd.md
+++ b/rules/lcd.md
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ project, a missing dependency, or an unfilled artifact always means "allow":
 LCD **ships** the rules its lanes depend on, so it works on any project without relying on your
 machine's global config. They live in the plugin and are read via `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/rules/<name>.md`:
 `testing`, `no-overengineering`, `no-downgrade`, `refinement-protocol`, `versioning`, `commits`,
-plus `ac-convention` (the one with `paths:` frontmatter, so it auto-loads on specs/JOURNALs). The
+plus `ac-convention` (the one with `paths:` frontmatter; onboard copies it into the project's
+`.claude/rules/`, the only place it auto-loads from, since plugins have no rules component). The
 Deep-lane plan's Constitution check reads them from there. **A project may override any rule** with
 its own `.claude/rules/<name>.md` — the project's version wins when present.
diff --git a/skills/onboard/SKILL.md b/skills/onboard/SKILL.md
index d1cc3ae..0a837fb 100644
--- a/skills/onboard/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/onboard/SKILL.md
@@ -108,11 +108,13 @@ the path to `lcd:onboard-skipped.log`; otherwise write it. Never overwrite.
    **Constitution notes** by scanning the project's
    `CLAUDE.md` + `.claude/rules/*` for must-restate constraints (no `any`, design tokens, version
    bump, dual-engine parity, etc.).
-2. **`.claude/rules/ac-convention.md`** — **only when the chosen artifact root is NOT the default
-   `docs/lcd`**: copy `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/rules/ac-convention.md` and rewrite its `paths:`
-   frontmatter to the chosen root (`["<root>/**/spec.md", "<root>/**/JOURNAL.md"]`), so the rule
-   still auto-loads on specs/JOURNALs. The bundled rule's globs only cover the default root; without
-   this override the convention never auto-loads on a custom root. Skip when root = `docs/lcd`.
+2. **`.claude/rules/ac-convention.md`** — **always**: copy `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/rules/ac-convention.md`
+   and, for a non-default root, rewrite its `paths:` frontmatter to that root
+   (`["<root>/**/spec.md", "<root>/**/JOURNAL.md"]`). Plugins can't ship auto-loading rules, so
+   this project copy is the only way the convention auto-loads on specs/JOURNALs. **The one
+   exception to never-overwrite:** if the file exists but its `paths:` doesn't cover `<root>` (e.g.
+   a vendored copy seeded for `docs/lcd`), rewrite only that `paths:` line, keep the body, and
+   log it in the skip-log as `rewrote paths:`.
 3. **`<root>/MAP.md`** — from `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates/MAP.md`, filled from the **actual** structure
    (Step 1): real top-level zones with their paths and responsibilities, real entry points, the
    surfaces actually exposed, and any invariants you can infer from CLAUDE.md/rules (e.g. the
@@ -200,8 +202,8 @@ list below mechanically and must report **0 FAIL**. Then confirm:
 - `<root>/DECISIONS.md` exists (seeded or empty header).
 - If `living-spec: on`, `<root>/SPEC.md` exists (from the living-spec template); if `off`, it is
   absent and that's correct.
-- Non-default artifact root → `.claude/rules/ac-convention.md` exists with `paths:` globs matching
-  that root (otherwise the AC convention never auto-loads).
+- `.claude/rules/ac-convention.md` exists with `paths:` globs matching the artifact root
+  (otherwise the AC convention never auto-loads).
 - `settings.json` (or `settings.local.json` if the user chose machine-local) still parses as JSON.
 - CLAUDE.md has exactly one LCD pointer; AGENTS.md (if the project has one) too.
 - **If Step 1 found nothing that reviews the diff, say so once, in one line, and move on.** LCD's
diff --git a/tests/test-boundary-check.sh b/tests/test-boundary-check.sh
index 02913f8..9a423d7 100755
--- a/tests/test-boundary-check.sh
+++ b/tests/test-boundary-check.sh
@@ -99,7 +99,10 @@ out="$(run_hook "/somewhere/else/file.txt")"
 git -C "$proj" checkout -q -b another-branch
 out="$(run_hook "$proj/src/other/unrelated.ts")"
 [[ -z "$out" ]] || fail "no branch match must allow, got: $out"
-git -C "$proj" checkout -q feat/export-csv
+# symbolic-ref, not checkout: the fixture repo has no commits, so `checkout` back to the
+# unborn feat/export-csv fails silently and every later case would run with nothing active.
+git -C "$proj" symbolic-ref HEAD refs/heads/feat/export-csv
+[[ "$(git -C "$proj" symbolic-ref --short HEAD)" == "feat/export-csv" ]] || fail "fixture: branch switch-back failed"
 
 # --- all steps done → work-item inactive → allow ------------------------------
 sedi 's/- \[ \] S2/- [x] S2/' "$proj/docs/lcd/work/export-csv/JOURNAL.md"
@@ -107,9 +110,40 @@ out="$(run_hook "$proj/src/other/unrelated.ts")"
 [[ -z "$out" ]] || fail "done work-item must not enforce, got: $out"
 sedi 's/- \[x\] S2/- [ ] S2/' "$proj/docs/lcd/work/export-csv/JOURNAL.md"
 
+# --- AC-1 (CLI): NotebookEdit sends notebook_path, not file_path ---------------
+run_nb() {
+  CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR="$proj" bash ${DBG:+-x} "$PLUGIN_BIN/lcd-boundary-check.sh" <<EOF
+{"hook_event_name":"PreToolUse","tool_name":"NotebookEdit","tool_input":{"notebook_path":"$1","new_source":"x"}}
+EOF
+}
+out="$(run_nb "$proj/src/other/analysis.ipynb")"
+assert_contains "$out" '"permissionDecision":"deny"' "AC-1 (CLI) out-of-boundary NotebookEdit denied"
+out="$(run_nb "$proj/src/export/analysis.ipynb")"
+[[ -z "$out" ]] || fail "AC-1 (CLI): in-boundary NotebookEdit should be allowed, got: $out"
+
+# --- AC-2 (CLI): . and .. segments are resolved before matching ----------------
+out="$(run_hook "$proj/src/export/../../docs/x.md")"
+assert_contains "$out" '"permissionDecision":"deny"' "AC-2 (CLI) .. escaping the boundary denied"
+assert_contains "$out" "'docs/x.md'" "AC-2 (CLI) deny reason shows the resolved path"
+out="$(run_hook "$proj/src/other/../export/./a.ts")"
+[[ -z "$out" ]] || fail "AC-2 (CLI): .. resolving inside the boundary should be allowed, got: $out"
+out="$(run_hook "src/export/../../src/other/b.ts")"
+assert_contains "$out" '"permissionDecision":"deny"' "AC-2 (CLI) relative path with .. denied"
+out="$(run_hook "$proj/../elsewhere/c.ts")"
+[[ -z "$out" ]] || fail "AC-2 (CLI): a path resolving outside the project is not ours, got: $out"
+out="$(run_hook "$proj/src/export/a\\n/../../../docs/x.md")"
+assert_contains "$out" '"permissionDecision":"deny"' "AC-2 (CLI) a newline in the path can't truncate resolution"
+# a `*` segment must stay literal: from a cwd holding `export`, an unguarded split globs it
+mkdir -p "$tmp/cwd/export"
+out="$(cd "$tmp/cwd" && run_hook "$proj/src/*/a.ts")"
+assert_contains "$out" '"permissionDecision":"deny"' "AC-2 (CLI) glob characters in a path segment are not expanded"
+out="$(run_hook "$proj/docs/lcd/../../src/other/d.ts")"
+assert_contains "$out" '"permissionDecision":"deny"' "AC-2 (CLI) .. out of the always-allowed artifact root denied"
+
 # --- placeholder-only boundary → no enforcement (fail open) -------------------
-sedi 's|- `src/export/`|- `<path>`|; s|- `tests/export.test.ts`|- `<path2>`|' \
-  "$proj/docs/lcd/work/export-csv/JOURNAL.md"
+# Every boundary bullet becomes a template placeholder (no real entry left).
+sedi '/^## EDIT BOUNDARY/,/lcd-resume -->/s|^- `.*|- `<path>`|' "$proj/docs/lcd/work/export-csv/JOURNAL.md"
+[[ "$(grep -c '^- `<path>`' "$proj/docs/lcd/work/export-csv/JOURNAL.md")" -ge 2 ]] || fail "fixture: placeholders not written"
 out="$(run_hook "$proj/src/other/unrelated.ts")"
 [[ -z "$out" ]] || fail "placeholder boundary must fail open, got: $out"
 
diff --git a/tests/test-doctor.sh b/tests/test-doctor.sh
index 92a7883..e888933 100755
--- a/tests/test-doctor.sh
+++ b/tests/test-doctor.sh
@@ -36,9 +36,21 @@ assert_contains "$out" "not onboarded" "names the problem"
 write_conventions
 touch "$proj/docs/lcd/MAP.md" "$proj/docs/lcd/DECISIONS.md"
 printf '## LCD\nlcd:triage routes new work.\n' > "$proj/CLAUDE.md"
+default_ac() {
+  printf -- '---\npaths: ["docs/lcd/**/spec.md", "docs/lcd/**/JOURNAL.md"]\n---\n' > "$proj/.claude/rules/ac-convention.md"
+}
+
+# --- AC-3 (CLI): default root without the project ac-convention copy → WARN, not FAIL ---
+# (plugins have no rules/ component, so only the project copy ever auto-loads)
+out="$(run_doctor)"; code=$?
+assert_exit 0 "$code" "AC-3 (CLI) missing default-root ac-convention does not fail"
+assert_contains "$out" "WARN — ac-convention" "AC-3 (CLI) missing default-root ac-convention warns"
+
+default_ac
 out="$(run_doctor)"; code=$?
 assert_exit 0 "$code" "healthy setup passes"
 assert_contains "$out" "doctor: 0 FAIL, 0 WARN" "fully green"
+assert_contains "$out" "OK   — ac-convention" "AC-3 (CLI) project ac-convention covering the root is OK"
 # lowercase angle tokens (<slug>, <surface>) are substitution markers, NOT placeholders
 assert_not_contains "$out" "placeholder" "substitution tokens not flagged"
 
@@ -68,6 +80,25 @@ printf -- '---\npaths: [".lcd/**/spec.md", ".lcd/**/JOURNAL.md"]\n---\n' \
 out="$(run_doctor)"; code=$?
 assert_exit 0 "$code" "override satisfies the check"
 
+# --- AC-3 (CLI): back on the default root, a copy that covers another root warns -------
+write_conventions docs/lcd
+out="$(run_doctor)"; code=$?
+assert_exit 0 "$code" "AC-3 (CLI) wrong-root copy at default root does not fail"
+assert_contains "$out" "WARN — ac-convention" "AC-3 (CLI) wrong-root copy at default root warns"
+
+# --- AC-3 (CLI): coverage is judged on the paths: globs, not a substring anywhere ---------
+# root `docs` is a substring of the stock docs/lcd globs (and `spec` of the body), but
+# `docs/lcd/**` never matches docs/work/<slug>/spec.md
+default_ac
+printf '\nEvery spec in docs and lcd work dirs.\n' >> "$proj/.claude/rules/ac-convention.md"
+for r in docs spec; do
+  write_conventions "$r"
+  mkdir -p "$proj/$r"; touch "$proj/$r/MAP.md" "$proj/$r/DECISIONS.md"
+  out="$(run_doctor)"; code=$?
+  assert_exit 1 "$code" "AC-3 (CLI) root '$r' not covered by docs/lcd globs fails"
+done
+default_ac
+
 # --- living-spec: on but SPEC.md missing → WARN (not FAIL) --------------------------
 write_conventions docs/lcd "vitest run {path}" "vitest run --bail 1 {path}" on
 out="$(run_doctor)"; code=$?