diff --git a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/records/resource-payload-static-metadata-2026-08-24.md b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/records/resource-payload-static-metadata-2026-08-24.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4c93fac64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/records/resource-payload-static-metadata-2026-08-24.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# Resource payload static-metadata bloat (browser performance audit, 2026-08-24)
+
+## Context
+
+A read-only browser performance audit (2026-08-23/24, production build served by
+the dev backend against the 50-node / 929-guest / 1,508-resource mock estate)
+measured the client-facing resource stream as a primary scalability cost:
+
+- The full state snapshot is **4.73 MB** of JSON in a single websocket frame
+  (`/api/state` REST recovery returns the same payload). `resources` accounts
+  for 4.63 MB — ~3 KB average per resource.
+- Idle on the Proxmox overview, the browser main thread was blocked for
+  **12.0 s out of every 45 s** (individual long tasks of 0.8–1.4 s roughly
+  every 3–4 s, aligned with resource delta frames of up to ~500 KB) on an
+  unthrottled M-series desktop. Under a 4x CPU throttle (mid-range phone
+  class), tab taps landing inside those windows blocked for multiple seconds.
+
+## Measured payload composition (per-field bytes across 1,508 resources)
+
+| Field | Bytes | Notes |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `canonicalIdentity` | 0.82 MB | 12 aliases incl. 7 superseded hash ids on a typical VM; identity history ships on every snapshot |
+| `proxmox` + `platformData` | 1.36 MB | platform payloads |
+| `capabilities` | 0.34 MB | only **10 distinct blobs** across all 1,508 resources — duplicated per resource, including human-readable `description` strings |
+| `aiSafeSummary` | 0.14 MB | AI-oriented prose on every resource, shipped to every browser client |
+| `policy` | 0.12 MB | near-constant routing metadata per resource |
+
+The websocket delta path is already field-level (JSON merge patches in
+`internal/websocket/state_delta.go`), so delta size is driven by estate scale,
+not by a diffing defect. The static-metadata weight is paid on every full
+snapshot, REST recovery, reconnect, and mobile tab resume.
+
+## Why this is a governed gap rather than a quick fix
+
+Slimming the stream means changing the client-facing resource shape (for
+example: a capabilities catalog referenced by id instead of inlined blobs,
+identity history behind a detail endpoint instead of inline aliases, and
+audience-scoped fields so `aiSafeSummary`/`policy` do not ship to browser
+sessions that never read them). That is a wire-format change with consumers
+beyond frontend-modern — pulse-mobile (OTA-before-server-release constraint),
+Pro/enterprise surfaces, and the AI runtime — and payload fields are not
+contract-neutral under the governance rules. It needs an owned slice with
+contract updates and cross-client verification, not an opportunistic patch.
+
+## Companion fixes already landed separately
+
+- Nav tab identity stabilization (`frontend-modern/src/components/shared/stableNavTabs.ts`)
+  so websocket ticks no longer recreate every nav button.
+- `preloadDynamicChunks: false` in `frontend-modern/vite.config.ts` so cold
+  start no longer fetches and compiles all ~3.1 MB of lazy chunks up front.
+- Per-tab scoped hydration and realtime gating on the Proxmox surface
+  (`17bb2b3b7`, Performance lane).
diff --git a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/status.json b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/status.json
index ab41309d4..eb99948ec 100644
--- a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/status.json
+++ b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/status.json
@@ -9690,7 +9690,44 @@
       "subsystem_ids": []
     }
   ],
-  "coverage_gaps": [],
+  "coverage_gaps": [
+    {
+      "id": "resource-payload-static-metadata",
+      "summary": "The client-facing resource stream ships ~3KB of mostly-static metadata per resource (duplicated capabilities blobs with only 10 distinct values across 1,508 resources, canonicalIdentity alias/superseded-id history, aiSafeSummary prose, and policy routing) on every snapshot, REST recovery, and reconnect. At 50-node scale the snapshot is a single 4.73MB websocket frame and browser main-thread cost per delta reaches ~1s even on desktop hardware. Slimming the stream is a wire-format change with consumers beyond frontend-modern (pulse-mobile OTA compatibility, Pro surfaces, AI runtime), so it needs an owned slice with contract updates and cross-client verification.",
+      "owner": "project-owner",
+      "status": "triaged",
+      "recorded_at": "2026-08-24",
+      "lane_ids": [
+        "L6",
+        "L10",
+        "L13"
+      ],
+      "subsystem_ids": [
+        "api-contracts",
+        "performance-and-scalability",
+        "unified-resources"
+      ],
+      "proposed_resolution": "lane-expansion",
+      "coverage_impact": 6,
+      "evidence": [
+        {
+          "repo": "pulse",
+          "path": "docs/release-control/v6/internal/records/resource-payload-static-metadata-2026-08-24.md",
+          "kind": "file"
+        },
+        {
+          "repo": "pulse",
+          "path": "frontend-modern/src/stores/websocket.ts",
+          "kind": "file"
+        },
+        {
+          "repo": "pulse",
+          "path": "internal/websocket/state_delta.go",
+          "kind": "file"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  ],
   "candidate_lanes": [],
   "work_claims": [],
   "open_decisions": [],