diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index d9d23c57..fe5a72e5 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -301,8 +301,9 @@ plugin membership) is authored here.
 Run before opening any PR. Steps 1–2 mirror the CI gates; step 3 is a best-effort local lint that CI
 does not currently enforce but that keeps workflow changes clean:
 
-The JSON-field guard needs Go 1.22 or later when a plugin carries Go support source. It builds only
-its installed syntax decoder, reads comments and decoded literal strings/argument blocks, and never
+The JSON-field guard needs Go 1.22 or later for every scanned surface. It builds only
+its installed observer, joins adjacent literal shell quotes without evaluation, requires unique
+decoded JSON keys, reads Go comments and decoded literal strings/argument blocks, and never
 executes the inspected package. Unresolved groupings beside a known JSON flag, malformed source,
 incomplete decoding, or exhausted source/decoded-work budgets stay UNKNOWN. This is not analysis of
 arbitrary Go runtime behavior.
diff --git a/scripts/gh-json-go/main.go b/scripts/gh-json-go/main.go
index 74884500..5a2a62a9 100644
--- a/scripts/gh-json-go/main.go
+++ b/scripts/gh-json-go/main.go
@@ -179,8 +179,109 @@ func guidance(source []byte) ([]string, error) {
 	return d.parts, nil
 }
 
+// normalizeShellFields joins only adjacent literal fragments of advertised field words.
+// Markdown delimiters end a word; expansions and unresolved quoting never establish a clean scan.
+func normalizeShellFields(source string) (string, error) {
+	letter := func(c byte) bool { return c >= 'a' && c <= 'z' || c >= 'A' && c <= 'Z' || c == ',' }
+	space := func(c byte) bool { return c == ' ' || c == '\t' || c == '\n' || c == '\r' }
+	var output strings.Builder
+	position := 0
+	for position < len(source) {
+		relative := strings.Index(source[position:], "--json")
+		if relative < 0 {
+			output.WriteString(source[position:])
+			break
+		}
+		flag := position + relative
+		start := flag + len("--json")
+		// A quoted flag is one argument, while a closing Markdown backtick is a boundary.
+		if start < len(source) && (source[start] == '\'' || source[start] == '"') && flag > 0 && source[flag-1] == source[start] {
+			start++
+		}
+		if start == len(source) || !(space(source[start]) || source[start] == '=' || source[start] == ',') {
+			output.WriteString(source[position:start])
+			position = start
+			continue
+		}
+		separatorStart := start
+		for start < len(source) && (space(source[start]) || source[start] == '=' || source[start] == ',') {
+			start++
+		}
+		end := start
+		var word strings.Builder
+		for end < len(source) {
+			c := source[end]
+			if c == '$' {
+				return "", fmt.Errorf("JSON field word contains unresolved expansion")
+			}
+			if c == '\\' {
+				return "", fmt.Errorf("JSON field word contains an unresolved escape")
+			}
+			if letter(c) {
+				word.WriteByte(c)
+				end++
+				continue
+			}
+			if c == '`' {
+				separator := source[separatorStart:end]
+				if word.Len() == 0 && strings.HasPrefix(source[end:], "```") &&
+					strings.Contains(separator, "\n") && strings.Trim(separator, " \t\r\n") == "" {
+					break // A following Markdown fence is not part of a field word.
+				}
+				line := strings.LastIndexByte(source[:flag], '\n') + 1
+				if strings.Count(source[line:flag], "`")%2 == 0 {
+					return "", fmt.Errorf("JSON field word contains unresolved command substitution")
+				}
+				break // Close the Markdown span that opened before this command.
+			}
+			if c != '\'' && c != '"' {
+				break
+			}
+			closing := strings.IndexByte(source[end+1:], c)
+			if closing < 0 {
+				line := strings.LastIndexByte(source[:flag], '\n') + 1
+				if strings.Count(source[line:flag], string(c))%2 == 0 ||
+					end+1 < len(source) && (letter(source[end+1]) || source[end+1] == '$') {
+					return "", fmt.Errorf("JSON field quoting is incomplete")
+				}
+				break // A surrounding prose quote can close after the final field.
+			}
+			closing += end + 1
+			fragment := source[end+1 : closing]
+			literal := true
+			for i := 0; i < len(fragment); i++ {
+				literal = literal && letter(fragment[i])
+			}
+			if !literal {
+				if strings.ContainsAny(fragment, "$`\\") {
+					return "", fmt.Errorf("JSON field quoting contains unresolved expansion")
+				}
+				break // Ordinary prose outside the literal field word remains a boundary.
+			}
+			word.WriteString(fragment)
+			end = closing + 1
+		}
+		output.WriteString(source[position:start])
+		output.WriteString(word.String())
+		position = end
+	}
+	return output.String(), nil
+}
+
 // run reads a bounded retained snapshot and publishes only complete decoded guidance.
 func run() error {
+	if len(os.Args) == 2 && os.Args[1] == "--shell-fields" {
+		input, err := io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(os.Stdin, (8<<20)+1))
+		if err != nil || len(input) > 8<<20 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("guidance text exceeds the complete observation budget")
+		}
+		text, err := normalizeShellFields(string(input))
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		_, err = io.WriteString(os.Stdout, text)
+		return err
+	}
 	if len(os.Args) != 2 {
 		return fmt.Errorf("one retained source path is required")
 	}
diff --git a/scripts/guard-gh-json-fields.sh b/scripts/guard-gh-json-fields.sh
index e9334ee4..6c6f4f95 100755
--- a/scripts/guard-gh-json-fields.sh
+++ b/scripts/guard-gh-json-fields.sh
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@
 # Scans every *.md, *.txt, *.json, *.jq and *.go under ROOT/plugins; any other non-script file is UNKNOWN. Shell
 # scripts are not scanned: a script with a bad field fails loudly the first time it runs, whereas prose
 # silently misleads every agent that reads it.
-# Go needs Go 1.22+: only the installed syntax decoder is built. It reads comments, decoded literal
+# Go 1.22+ is required: only the installed observer is built. Literal adjacent shell quotes are
+# joined without evaluating inspected text; expansions are UNKNOWN. JSON requires unique decoded
+# keys. Normalized text is bounded to 8 MiB. The Go decoder reads comments, decoded literal
 # strings and literal Command/CommandContext or composite argument blocks. Unresolved groupings beside
 # a known JSON flag, malformed source, or the 8 MiB source / 4 MiB decoded-work / 262144-step budgets
 # are UNKNOWN. This does not evaluate arbitrary Go programs.
@@ -30,6 +32,7 @@
 # which would make a 0 meaningless).
 
 set -euo pipefail
+export LC_ALL=C
 
 root="${1:-$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)}"
 helper_dir=$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)
@@ -39,6 +42,19 @@ unknown() {
   exit 2
 }
 
+# shellcheck source=scripts/json-object.lib.sh
+. "$helper_dir/json-object.lib.sh" || unknown 'cannot load the complete JSON observer'
+
+# Build only the installed observer; inspected packages are never compiled or executed.
+ensure_decoder() {
+  if [[ ! -x $go_decoder ]]; then
+    command -v go >/dev/null || return 2
+    GOENV=off GOWORK=off GO111MODULE=off GOTOOLCHAIN=local GOFLAGS='' CGO_ENABLED=0 \
+      GOOS='' GOARCH='' GOCACHEPROG='' GOTMPDIR="$observation_dir" \
+      go build -o "$go_decoder" "$helper_dir/gh-json-go/main.go" || return 2
+  fi
+}
+
 # Emit the retained surface as plain text. $1 selects its type; $2 contains its observed bytes.
 # JSON is DECODED, never pattern-matched: a \u escape of a letter IS
 # that letter, so an escaped `merged` is still `merged`. Each decoded string is followed by `%`, which ends a field
@@ -48,12 +64,7 @@ decode_surface() {
     # Parse retained source and decode comments/literals, including literal command argv.
     # Only this installed decoder is built, never the inspected Go package.
     *.go)
-      if [[ ! -x $go_decoder ]]; then
-        command -v go >/dev/null || return 2
-        GOENV=off GOWORK=off GO111MODULE=off GOTOOLCHAIN=local GOFLAGS='' CGO_ENABLED=0 \
-          GOOS='' GOARCH='' GOCACHEPROG='' GOTMPDIR="$observation_dir" \
-          go build -o "$go_decoder" "$helper_dir/gh-json-go/main.go" || return 2
-      fi
+      ensure_decoder || return 2
       "$go_decoder" "$2" ;;
     # Object KEYS are scanned as well as values. An argv list (an all-string array under an `args`,
     # `argv`, `cmd` or `command` key, e.g. ["pr","view","--json","state,merged"]) is ALSO emitted
@@ -78,9 +89,11 @@ decode_surface() {
 # in SHELL quotes ('--json') is unwrapped first — that is one argument to the shell — while a
 # backtick-wrapped one stays a Markdown code span.
 extract_lists() {
+  ensure_decoder || return 2
   decode_surface "$1" "$2" \
     | tr -d '\000' \
     | awk '{ if (sub(/\\$/, "")) { printf "%s", $0 } else { print } }' \
+    | "$go_decoder" --shell-fields \
     | sed -E -e 's/\\[nrt]/ /g' -e 's/\\/ /g' \
     | awk '{
         line = $0; sub(/[[:space:]]+$/, "", line)
@@ -202,8 +215,8 @@ for surface in "${surfaces[@]}"; do
     cat "${surface}" > "${snapshot}" || unknown "${surface#"${root}/"} could not be completely read"
   fi
   case "${surface}" in
-    *.json) jq empty "${snapshot}" >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
-              unknown "${surface#"${root}/"} does not parse, so any field it prescribes would go unseen" ;;
+    *.json) json_value_unique "${snapshot}" ||
+              unknown "${surface#"${root}/"} is incomplete or has repeated decoded keys" ;;
   esac
   scanned=$((scanned + 1))
   # Retain one complete observation. A failed stage may already have emitted valid-looking
diff --git a/scripts/guard-gh-json-fields.test.sh b/scripts/guard-gh-json-fields.test.sh
index 53ce4dfe..2f26534a 100755
--- a/scripts/guard-gh-json-fields.test.sh
+++ b/scripts/guard-gh-json-fields.test.sh
@@ -73,6 +73,47 @@ done < <(printf '%s\0' \
   'boundary: see `gh pr view <n> --json comments`, merged PRs need no polling' \
   'boundary: `gh pr view <n> --json state`, and merged ones are done')
 
+# Repeated decoded keys must be rejected before extraction can discard an earlier prescription.
+for document in \
+  '{"prompt":"gh pr view --json merged","prompt":"gh pr view --json mergedAt"}' \
+  '{"prompt":"gh pr view --json merged","pro\u006dpt":"gh pr view --json mergedAt"}' \
+  '{"nested":{"args":["--json","merged"],"args":["--json","mergedAt"]}}' \
+  '[{"prompt":"gh pr view --json merged","prompt":"safe"}]'; do
+  dir="$(fixture "unknown-duplicate-json-$passed")"
+  printf '%s\n' "$document" > "$dir/plugins/p/case.json"
+  expect 2 'duplicate decoded JSON keys are UNKNOWN' "$dir"
+done
+
+# Adjacent quotes belong to the same shell word; unresolved literal combinations remain UNKNOWN.
+for fields in 'state,mer""ged' "state,mer''ged" '"state,mer""ged"' "state,'mer'ged"; do
+  dir="$(fixture "bad-adjacent-literals-$passed")"
+  printf 'gh pr view --json %s\n' "$fields" > "$dir/plugins/p/agents/case.md"
+  expect 1 'adjacent literal field fragments still prescribe merged' "$dir"
+done
+for fields in 'state,mer""gedAt' "state,mer'gedBy'" '"state,mer""geCommit"'; do
+  dir="$(fixture "good-adjacent-literals-$passed")"
+  printf 'gh pr view --json %s\n' "$fields" > "$dir/plugins/p/agents/case.md"
+  expect 0 'adjacent valid literal fields remain valid' "$dir"
+done
+dir="$(fixture unknown-adjacent-expansion)"
+printf '%s\n' 'gh pr view --json state,mer"$fragment"ged' > "$dir/plugins/p/agents/case.md"
+expect 2 'unresolved adjacent field expansion is UNKNOWN' "$dir"
+for command in 'gh pr view --json state,mer${suffix}' 'gh pr view --json state,mer$(printf ged)' "gh pr view --json state,mer\$'ged'" "gh pr view --json \$'merged'"; do
+  dir="$(fixture "unknown-unquoted-expansion-$passed")"
+  printf '%s\n' "$command" > "$dir/plugins/p/agents/case.md"
+  expect 2 'unquoted or ANSI-C field expansion is UNKNOWN' "$dir"
+done
+for command in 'gh pr view --json state,mer\ged' 'gh pr view --json state,mer`printf ged`' 'gh pr view --json `printf merged`' 'gh pr view --json ```printf merged```'; do
+  dir="$(fixture "unknown-unquoted-shell-syntax-$passed")"
+  printf '%s\n' "$command" > "$dir/plugins/p/agents/case.md"
+  expect 2 'unquoted shell syntax inside a field word is UNKNOWN' "$dir"
+done
+for command in "gh pr view --json state,mer'" 'gh pr view --json state,mer"'; do
+  dir="$(fixture "unknown-incomplete-field-quote-$passed")"
+  printf '%s\n' "$command" > "$dir/plugins/p/agents/case.md"
+  expect 2 'an incomplete quote attached to a field word is UNKNOWN' "$dir"
+done
+
 # JSON surfaces are decoded: a \u-escaped letter is still that letter, so an escaped field name is caught.
 dir="$(fixture bad-json-escaped-name)"
 printf '{"prompt":"gh pr view <n> --json state,\x5cu006derged,mergedAt"}\n' > "${dir}/plugins/p/plugin.json"
@@ -127,6 +168,10 @@ dir="$(fixture good-closing-backtick)"
 printf '%s\n' 'The flag is `--json`' 'merged pull requests need no polling.' > "${dir}/plugins/p/agents/case.md"
 expect 0 "a closing backtick after --json, then 'merged' on the next line" "${dir}"
 
+dir="$(fixture good-closing-fence-after-empty-list)"
+printf '%s\n' '```bash' 'gh status --json' '```' > "${dir}/plugins/p/agents/case.md"
+expect 0 'a closing Markdown fence after --json with no field list' "${dir}"
+
 # A flag wrapped in shell quotes is still the flag: `gh pr view 42 '--json' state,merged`.
 dir="$(fixture bad-quoted-flag)"
 printf '%s\n' "gh pr view 42 '--json' state,merged" > "${dir}/plugins/p/agents/case.md"