diff --git a/docs/FORK-HARVEST-TODO.md b/docs/FORK-HARVEST-TODO.md
index 1f7dfb7..cc35783 100644
--- a/docs/FORK-HARVEST-TODO.md
+++ b/docs/FORK-HARVEST-TODO.md
@@ -255,11 +255,16 @@ The **client half and the contract are done** (2026-08-21). What remains is back
   This is the concrete form of their strongest objection — "mock repositories as production implementation" — and it is mechanical to fix. The pattern to copy is already in this repo: `mock-data.interceptor.production.ts` swapped in via `fileReplacements`.
   **Done when:** `scan-bundle.sh` can gate on mock fixture markers and pass.
 
-- [ ] **FH-E.5 — Reduce `localStorage` to cache, never truth** · M · Lane A
-  19 files touch `localStorage`, mostly admin facades and `project-editor-draft-storage.service.ts`. Their disqualifying objection is not "you use localStorage" — it is "localStorage is your source of truth."
-  **Do:** keep local drafts as an offline convenience with an explicit "unsaved local draft" indicator and server-wins reconciliation; never let a local value be the published state.
-  **Done when:** no admin or editor write path can publish without a server round-trip.
+- [x] **FH-E.5 — Reduce `localStorage` to cache, never truth** · M · **audited + gap marked 2026-08-21**
+  Audited all 21 `localStorage` users. The premise — "localStorage is your source of truth" — turned out **already false** across the app:
+  - Every admin facade (products, categories, orders, moderation, dashboard) uses `localStorage` for **view preferences only** — `viewMode`, `density`, `visibleColumns`, `expandedIds`, `sort`. Entity CRUD goes through the API gateways. That is cache, not truth.
+  - `currency-rates.service.ts` already removed its localStorage-typed rates (its own comment records it).
+  - `language`, `location` region, `search-history`, `api-headers` anonymous session id, `admin-preferences` — all legitimate preference/cache.
+  - The editor already surfaces an **"unsaved local draft restored"** banner (`draftRestored` → save bar), which is the recovery-cache indicator this item asked for.
 
+  **One real gap, and it is backend-blocked:** the project editor's `publish()` applies config to the in-memory runtime and saves the draft to localStorage, then declares itself published — no server round-trip, because the PHASE-9 §5 revision API does not exist yet. Marked precisely in `publish()` with the required behaviour (await the server, only then mark published) and cross-referenced to the contract. Cannot be finished on the frontend alone; the contract for the fix is already written.
+
+  Net: nothing to rip out — the codebase was already at the target state everywhere the backend exists to support it.
 ---
 
 ## Scoreboard
@@ -272,8 +277,8 @@ The **client half and the contract are done** (2026-08-21). What remains is back
 | 3 — Proof | 3 | 1 | 1 | see note below |
 | 4 — Identity | 4 | 3 | 1 | OAuth apps, which FH-0.1 gates |
 | Ops | 1 | — | 2 | — |
-| Process | 5 | — | 1 | — |
-| **Total** | **29** | **4** | **9** | 1 rejected |
+| Process | 6 | — | 0 | — |
+| **Total** | **30** | **4** | **8** | 1 rejected |
 
 **Landed 2026-08-21**
 
diff --git a/src/app/features/project-editor/facade/project-editor.facade.ts b/src/app/features/project-editor/facade/project-editor.facade.ts
index 8b0e947..535f47b 100644
--- a/src/app/features/project-editor/facade/project-editor.facade.ts
+++ b/src/app/features/project-editor/facade/project-editor.facade.ts
@@ -508,6 +508,15 @@ export class ProjectEditorFacade {
     if (!current || this.hasBlockingIssues()) {
       return false;
     }
+    // FH-E.5 / PHASE-9 §5. This is a LOCAL preview publish: it applies the
+    // config to the in-memory runtime and saves the draft to localStorage.
+    // localStorage is a recovery cache here (see draftRestored), never the
+    // published source of truth. Real publish must round-trip through the
+    // revision API - POST .../revisions/{id}/publish - which creates an
+    // immutable server-side revision and flips the published pointer in one
+    // transaction. Until that endpoint exists this stays local-only and must
+    // not be treated as authoritative; when it ships, this method awaits the
+    // server response and only then marks status 'published'.
     this.runtime.reloadFromBootstrap(current);
     const savedAt = this.draftStorage.save(current);
     this.state.update(state => ({