diff --git a/scripts/validation/README.md b/scripts/validation/README.md
index 0f165bc..8f97150 100644
--- a/scripts/validation/README.md
+++ b/scripts/validation/README.md
@@ -79,9 +79,30 @@ The table caches nulls (tmdb ids TMDB has no IMDb id for) and checkpoints, so a
 re-run only resolves new ids. TMDB is authoritative for this crosswalk — there is
 no clean free bulk `tmdb_person ↔ nm` file, so we query the API once and cache.
 
+## Minimum face size (VR-005)
+
+`min_face_size.py` is a separate, self-contained study: it needs no video and no
+ground truth, only the gallery mugshot cache. It holds out one image per actor,
+degrades that probe to each candidate face size and matches it against a gallery
+held at **native** resolution, reporting TPI/FPI per size — the measurement that
+replaces AR-002's 66×66 px estimate.
+
+```bash
+python scripts/validation/min_face_size.py \
+    --images images --gallery gallery_lvface.h5 \
+    --arcface models/LVFace-B_Glint360K.onnx \
+    --actors 100 --out experiments/results/vr005_min_face_size
+```
+
+FPI grows with the number of actors competing, so a 100-actor run understates it
+against a library of thousands: read FPI as relative across sizes, not as an
+absolute rate. Re-run per `--arcface` model to see whether `min_face_px` should be
+one constant or scale with the embedder (GR-004).
+
 ## Files
 - `sample_eval.py`   — CLI scorer.
 - `ground_truth.py`  — `XRayGroundTruth`, `MovieNetGroundTruth` loaders.
 - `identity.py`      — provider-agnostic match keys.
 - `tmdb_imdb_map.py` — build/consult the cached `tmdb→imdb` crosswalk.
+- `min_face_size.py` — VR-005 probe-size sweep (see above).
 - `test_sample_eval.py` — self-contained tests (`python scripts/validation/test_sample_eval.py`).
diff --git a/scripts/validation/min_face_size.py b/scripts/validation/min_face_size.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c17538
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/validation/min_face_size.py
@@ -0,0 +1,822 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+min_face_size.py — VR-005: at what face size do embeddings stop identifying people?
+
+TRACES: VR-005
+
+`min_face_px` is currently a working estimate (AR-002: 66x66 px in original video
+resolution). This script replaces the guess with a measurement, using only gallery
+mugshots already on disk — no video, no C++ changes.
+
+Protocol
+--------
+1. Select ~100 gallery actors that have more than one mugshot.
+2. Per actor hold out ONE image as the *probe*; that actor's remaining images stay
+   in the gallery at native resolution.
+3. For each target size S, take the probe's native aligned 112x112 crop, downscale
+   it to SxS and upscale it back to 112x112, then embed. Detail is genuinely
+   destroyed and then the same warp the pipeline applies is re-applied on top —
+   which is what a face detected at SxS in a frame actually suffers.
+4. Match each degraded probe against the whole gallery.
+5. Record, per size, TPI (identified as the correct actor) and FPI (identified as
+   someone else). Everything else is an unidentified probe (TBI).
+
+The asymmetry is the point: **the gallery stays at native resolution and only the
+probe degrades.** That is the production case — reference mugshots are clean, the
+face coming out of the video is small. Degrading both sides would measure
+something the pipeline never does.
+
+What this deliberately does NOT measure
+---------------------------------------
+The cosine between the size-S embedding and the native embedding of the *same*
+image. That is embedding *drift*, and it answers the wrong question: an embedding
+can drift a long way and stay perfectly separable, or drift a little in a
+direction that destroys separation. What matters is the decision the pipeline
+makes — probe against a competing gallery — so that is what is recorded.
+
+CAVEAT — FPI IS RELATIVE, NOT ABSOLUTE
+--------------------------------------
+False positives grow with the number of actors competing for the match. A
+~100-actor gallery therefore *understates* the false-positive rate against a
+production library of thousands. Read the FPI column as a relative curve across
+sizes ("FPI is 4x worse at 32 px than at 64 px"), never as the rate you would see
+in production. Re-run with `--actors` at production scale before setting a
+threshold from an absolute FPI number.
+
+Decision rule
+-------------
+Per the repo invariant (CLAUDE.md: "always use the calibrated probability, never a
+raw cosine"), identification goes through the same path as `identity_matcher_node`:
+per-actor best-of-N cosine -> Platt sigmoid P(match) = sigma(a*sim + b + log-prior)
+-> accept if P > `prob_threshold`. The sigmoid is fitted here by the same
+histogram/gradient-descent procedure as `src/gallery/gallery_calibration.hpp`,
+over the native gallery embeddings only (held-out probes are excluded, so the
+calibration cannot see the images it will be scored on).
+
+How this runs
+-------------
+Through the `sae_embed` bindings, which expose the shipped C++ stages directly:
+`detect()`, `align_face()`, `embed_crops()` and `GalleryCalibration`. Nothing
+here re-implements detection, the ArcFace warp, the embedder or the Platt fit.
+
+That matters most for the calibration. A second copy of the sigmoid is exactly
+where "always the calibrated probability, never a raw cosine" (AR-024) gets
+broken without anyone noticing, because the copy keeps returning plausible
+numbers after the original has moved. Scoring through the binding makes the rule
+structural instead of remembered.
+
+The backend is whichever was compiled in. Under `SAE_INFERENCE_BACKEND=ORT`
+that is the reference fp32 path, which loads the .onnx directly. A TensorRT fp16
+build is a *different realisation* of the same model and its embeddings are
+measurably not the same vectors: on LVFace-B_Glint360K the stored TRT-fp16 gallery
+agrees with an fp32 recompute of the same mugshot at only ~0.85 cosine, while
+same-actor/different-actor separation is essentially unchanged (d' 5.3 vs 5.7).
+Nothing here is invalidated by that — gallery and probes go through one session,
+so the comparison is internally consistent — but the two embedding spaces are not
+interchangeable, and `--verify-against <gallery.h5>` will show ~0.85, not ~1.0,
+against a TRT-built gallery. It reports the separation of both sets alongside the
+agreement so the two causes are distinguishable: a broken port collapses
+separation, a different backend does not.
+
+Secondary output (VR-005): running the sweep per `--arcface` model shows whether
+`min_face_px` should be one constant at all, or should scale with the embedder —
+which matters because the model is a build-time choice (GR-004).
+
+Usage
+-----
+  python scripts/validation/min_face_size.py \
+      --images images \
+      --gallery gallery_lvface.h5 \
+      --arcface models/LVFace-B_Glint360K.onnx \
+      --actors 100 --seed 0 \
+      --out experiments/results/vr005_min_face_size
+
+Writes <out>.csv, <out>.json and <out>.png (plus <out>.per_probe.csv with
+--per-probe).
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import csv
+import json
+import random
+import re
+import sys
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent.parent
+sys.path.insert(0, str(REPO / "scripts"))
+def _find_sae_embed() -> Path | None:
+    """Locate the built sae_embed module.
+
+    A git worktree has no build tree of its own, so fall back to the main
+    checkout via the shared git dir — otherwise running this study from a
+    feature worktree cannot find the bindings it now depends on.
+    """
+    roots = [REPO]
+    try:
+        import subprocess
+        common = subprocess.run(["git", "-C", str(REPO), "rev-parse",
+                                 "--path-format=absolute", "--git-common-dir"],
+                                capture_output=True, text=True, check=True).stdout.strip()
+        if common:
+            roots.append(Path(common).parent)
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+    for root in roots:
+        for b in ("build-ort", "build"):
+            if list((root / b).glob("sae_embed*.so")):
+                return root / b
+    return None
+
+
+_SAE_BUILD = _find_sae_embed()
+if _SAE_BUILD is None:
+    sys.exit("cannot find the built sae_embed module — build it with\n"
+             "  cmake --build build-ort --target sae_embed")
+sys.path.insert(0, str(_SAE_BUILD))
+
+# Before cv2: OpenCV's DNN module loads the system libonnxruntime, which then
+# shadows the one sae_embed links against and the import fails on a missing
+# symbol version. Order matters here.
+import sae_embed
+
+import cv2
+import numpy as np
+
+IMAGE_EXTS = (".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".webp")
+JELLYFIN_ID_RE = re.compile(r"^[0-9a-f]{32}$")
+
+# Interpolation used for the two halves of the degradation. Downscaling uses
+# INTER_AREA (correct low-pass for shrinking, i.e. detail that a small detection
+# genuinely never had); upscaling uses INTER_LINEAR, which is what warpAffine in
+# align_face() uses when it blows a small detection up to 112x112.
+INTERP = {
+    "area":    cv2.INTER_AREA,
+    "linear":  cv2.INTER_LINEAR,
+    "cubic":   cv2.INTER_CUBIC,
+    "nearest": cv2.INTER_NEAREST,
+    "lanczos": cv2.INTER_LANCZOS4,
+}
+
+# House chart palette, shared with scripts/docs/experiment_charts.py so figures
+# across the report read as one set.
+INK, MUTED, GRID, SURFACE = "#0b0b0b", "#898781", "#e1e0d9", "#fcfcfb"
+BLUE, GREEN, RED, AMBER = "#2a78d6", "#008300", "#e34948", "#eda100"
+
+
+# ── Production stages, via the sae_embed bindings ─────────────────────────────
+# detect / align_face / embed_crops / calibrate_gallery all call the shipped C++.
+# There is deliberately no Python re-implementation of any of them: a second copy
+# drifts from what ships, and the calibration is the one that must not — AR-024
+# requires every similarity to pass through the same sigmoid the matcher uses.
+
+# These two mirror constants in gallery_calibration.hpp. They are NOT a second
+# copy of the fit — that is the binding's job — but the script reproduces the
+# same dedup and eligibility filtering so the actor counts it reports describe
+# the population the C++ actually fitted on. Keep them in step with the header.
+MIN_EMB_FOR_POSITIVE = 5
+DEDUP_SIM = 1.0 - 1e-7
+
+
+class Stages:
+    """Thin holder so the rest of the script has one object to call."""
+
+    def __init__(self, detector: str, arcface: str, conf: float, nms: float):
+        self.engine = sae_embed.FaceEmbedder(
+            detector_model=detector, arcface_model=arcface,
+            conf=conf, nms=nms, max_side=0)
+
+    def detect(self, img):
+        return self.engine.detect(img)
+
+    def align(self, img, landmarks):
+        return sae_embed.align_face(img, np.asarray(landmarks, dtype=np.float32).reshape(5, 2))
+
+    def enhance(self, img):
+        return sae_embed.enhance_for_retry(img)
+
+    def embed(self, crops):
+        """(N,112,112,3) uint8 BGR -> (N,512) float32.
+
+        Chunked at the backend's max_batch: the engine does not split an
+        oversized request, so handing it a whole gallery at once asks CUDA for
+        a multi-gigabyte activation buffer and the allocator refuses.
+        """
+        if not len(crops):
+            return np.zeros((0, 512), dtype=np.float32)
+        n = max(1, int(self.engine.max_batch))
+        arr = np.ascontiguousarray(np.stack(crops), dtype=np.uint8)
+        out = [np.asarray(self.engine.embed_crops(np.ascontiguousarray(arr[i:i + n])))
+               for i in range(0, len(arr), n)]
+        return np.concatenate(out, axis=0)
+
+
+def calibrate_gallery(emb: np.ndarray, actor: np.ndarray) -> dict:
+    """The production Platt fit (gallery_calibration.hpp), via the binding."""
+    cal = sae_embed.calibrate_gallery(
+        np.ascontiguousarray(emb, dtype=np.float32), [int(a) for a in actor])
+    print(f"[calibration] a={cal.a:.4f} b={cal.b:.4f} valid={cal.valid} "
+          f"boundary(P=0.5)=sim{cal.boundary_at(0.5):.4f}", file=sys.stderr)
+    # Held module-side rather than returned: the returned dict lands in the run
+    # metadata, and a native object there breaks the JSON dump.
+    _CAL["cal"] = cal
+    return {"a": float(cal.a), "b": float(cal.b), "valid": bool(cal.valid)}
+
+
+def probability(sim, a: float, b: float, log_prior_odds: float = 0.0):
+    """P(match) through GalleryCalibration — the C++ sigmoid, not a copy of it."""
+    cal = _CAL.get("cal")
+    if cal is None:
+        raise RuntimeError("probability() called before calibrate_gallery()")
+    sim = np.asarray(sim, dtype=np.float64)
+    flat = np.atleast_1d(sim).ravel()
+    out = np.array([cal.probability(float(v), log_prior_odds) for v in flat])
+    return out.reshape(sim.shape) if sim.shape else float(out[0])
+
+
+_CAL: dict = {}
+
+
+# ── Runtime / actor discovery ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def normalise_name(name: str) -> str:
+    return re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9]+", "", name.lower())
+
+
+def discover_actors(images_root: Path) -> list[dict]:
+    """Enumerate the gallery-build image cache: <root>/<jellyfin_id>_<Name>/NN.jpg
+    (the layout make_jellyfin_gallery.py / reembed_gallery.py use)."""
+    actors = []
+    for d in sorted(p for p in images_root.iterdir() if p.is_dir()):
+        imgs = sorted(p for p in d.iterdir()
+                      if p.is_file() and p.suffix.lower() in IMAGE_EXTS)
+        if not imgs:
+            continue
+        head, _, tail = d.name.partition("_")
+        if JELLYFIN_ID_RE.match(head) and tail:
+            jellyfin_id, name = head, tail.replace("_", " ")
+        else:
+            jellyfin_id, name = "", d.name.replace("_", " ")
+        actors.append({"dir": d, "jellyfin_id": jellyfin_id, "name": name,
+                       "images": imgs})
+    return actors
+
+
+def gallery_keys(gallery_path: Path) -> tuple[set[str], set[str]]:
+    """(jellyfin ids, normalised names) of the actors an existing gallery holds."""
+    from sae_gallery import load_gallery_hdf5
+    g = load_gallery_hdf5(gallery_path)
+    ids = {a.get("jellyfin_id", "") for a in g["actors"] if a.get("jellyfin_id")}
+    names = {normalise_name(a.get("name", "")) for a in g["actors"] if a.get("name")}
+    return ids, names
+
+
+# ── Degradation ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def degrade(crop: np.ndarray, size: int, down: int, up: int) -> np.ndarray:
+    """Throw away everything a face detected at size x size never had, then warp
+    it back up to the 112x112 the embedder is fed."""
+    if size == 112:
+        return crop
+    small = cv2.resize(crop, (size, size), interpolation=down)
+    return cv2.resize(small, (112, 112), interpolation=up)
+
+
+# ── Reporting ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+CAVEAT = (
+    "CAVEAT: FPI grows with gallery size. This ran against {n_actors} actors, so it "
+    "UNDERSTATES the false-positive rate of a production library of thousands. Read "
+    "FPI as relative across sizes, not as an absolute rate."
+)
+
+
+def write_plot(rows: list[dict], out_png: Path, meta: dict) -> None:
+    import matplotlib
+    matplotlib.use("Agg")
+    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+
+    plt.rcParams.update({
+        "figure.facecolor": SURFACE, "axes.facecolor": SURFACE,
+        "savefig.facecolor": SURFACE, "text.color": INK,
+        "axes.edgecolor": MUTED, "axes.labelcolor": INK,
+        "xtick.color": MUTED, "ytick.color": MUTED,
+        "axes.grid": True, "grid.color": GRID, "grid.linewidth": 0.8,
+        "axes.spines.top": False, "axes.spines.right": False,
+    })
+
+    sizes = [r["size_px"] for r in rows]
+    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9, 5.6))
+    ax.plot(sizes, [100 * r["tpi_rate"] for r in rows], "-o", color=GREEN,
+            lw=2, label="TPI — identified, correct actor")
+    ax.plot(sizes, [100 * r["fpi_rate"] for r in rows], "-s", color=RED,
+            lw=2, label="FPI — identified, wrong actor")
+    ax.plot(sizes, [100 * r["unidentified_rate"] for r in rows], color=MUTED,
+            marker="^", lw=1.4, ls="--", label="unidentified (below P threshold)")
+    ax.plot(sizes, [100 * r["rank1_rate"] for r in rows], ":", color=BLUE,
+            lw=1.6, label="rank-1 correct (ignoring threshold)")
+
+    op = meta.get("operating_point")
+    if op:
+        ax.axvline(op, color=AMBER, lw=1.6, ls="-.", zorder=1)
+        ax.annotate(f"operating point {op} px", xy=(op, 50),
+                    xytext=(4, 0), textcoords="offset points",
+                    color=AMBER, fontsize=9, rotation=90, va="center")
+
+    ax.set_xlabel("probe face size before upscaling (px)")
+    ax.set_ylabel("% of probes")
+    ax.set_ylim(-2, 102)
+    ax.set_xticks(sizes)
+    ax.set_title(f"VR-005 — identification vs. probe face size\n"
+                 f"{meta['model']}, {meta['n_actors']} actors, "
+                 f"{meta['n_probes']} probes/size, gallery at native resolution",
+                 fontsize=11, loc="left")
+    ax.legend(frameon=False, fontsize=9, loc="center left")
+    fig.text(0.01, 0.005, CAVEAT.format(n_actors=meta["n_actors"]),
+             fontsize=7.5, color=MUTED, wrap=True)
+    fig.tight_layout(rect=(0, 0.05, 1, 1))
+    out_png.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    fig.savefig(out_png, dpi=150)
+    plt.close(fig)
+
+
+def pick_operating_point(rows: list[dict], retention: float, fpi_slack: float) -> int | None:
+    """Smallest size that keeps `retention` of the undegraded (112 px control)
+    TPI rate and does not add more than `fpi_slack` absolute FPI over it.
+    A stated rule, not a magic number — change the rule, not the answer."""
+    control = next((r for r in rows if r["size_px"] == 112), None)
+    if control is None or control["n_probes"] == 0:
+        return None
+    tpi_floor = retention * control["tpi_rate"]
+    fpi_ceil = control["fpi_rate"] + fpi_slack
+    ok = [r["size_px"] for r in rows
+          if r["tpi_rate"] >= tpi_floor and r["fpi_rate"] <= fpi_ceil]
+    return min(ok) if ok else None
+
+
+# ── Main ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def main() -> int:
+    p = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description=__doc__, formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter)
+    p.add_argument("--images", required=True,
+                   help="gallery image cache root (<jellyfin_id>_<Name>/NN.jpg)")
+    p.add_argument("--gallery", default=None,
+                   help="gallery .h5 — restricts the actor pool to its members")
+    p.add_argument("--out", default=str(REPO / "experiments/results/vr005_min_face_size"),
+                   help="output path prefix (.csv/.json/.png are appended)")
+    p.add_argument("--per-probe", action="store_true",
+                   help="also write <out>.per_probe.csv, one row per probe per size")
+
+    p.add_argument("--actors", type=int, default=100, help="actors to sample (default 100)")
+    p.add_argument("--min-images", type=int, default=2,
+                   help="minimum mugshots for an actor to be eligible (default 2)")
+    p.add_argument("--probes-per-actor", type=int, default=1,
+                   help="images held out per actor; 1 is the VR-005 protocol")
+    p.add_argument("--seed", type=int, default=0, help="actor/probe selection seed")
+    p.add_argument("--keep-duplicates", action="store_true",
+                   help="keep mugshots that are the same photograph twice; by "
+                        "default they are dropped, since a probe identical to a "
+                        "gallery reference is identified for free at every size")
+    p.add_argument("--sizes", default="12,16,20,24,32,40,48,56,64,72,80,96,112",
+                   help="comma-separated probe sizes; 112 is the undegraded control")
+
+    p.add_argument("--models-dir", default=str(REPO / "models"))
+    p.add_argument("--arcface", default=None,
+                   help="embedder ONNX (default <models-dir>/LVFace-B_Glint360K.onnx)")
+    p.add_argument("--detector", default=None,
+                   help="SCRFD ONNX (default <models-dir>/scrfd_500m_bnkps.onnx)")
+    p.add_argument("--conf", type=float, default=0.5, help="detector confidence")
+    p.add_argument("--nms", type=float, default=0.4, help="detector NMS IoU")
+    p.add_argument("--max-side", type=int, default=500,
+                   help="downscale mugshots to this longest side before detection, "
+                        "matching the gallery builders' embedder settings")
+
+    p.add_argument("--prob-threshold", type=float, default=0.754,
+                   help="accept if P(match) exceeds this (Config::prob_threshold)")
+    p.add_argument("--match-prior", type=float, default=0.5,
+                   help="base-rate prior (Config::match_prior)")
+    p.add_argument("--calib-a", type=float, default=None,
+                   help="override the fitted sigmoid scale instead of fitting")
+    p.add_argument("--calib-b", type=float, default=None,
+                   help="override the fitted sigmoid bias instead of fitting")
+
+    p.add_argument("--down-interp", default="area", choices=sorted(INTERP),
+                   help="interpolation for the 112 -> S downscale (default area)")
+    p.add_argument("--up-interp", default="linear", choices=sorted(INTERP),
+                   help="interpolation for the S -> 112 upscale (default linear, "
+                        "as warpAffine uses in align_face)")
+
+    p.add_argument("--tpi-retention", type=float, default=0.95,
+                   help="operating point keeps this fraction of the control TPI rate")
+    p.add_argument("--fpi-slack", type=float, default=0.01,
+                   help="operating point may add at most this absolute FPI over control")
+    p.add_argument("--verify-against", default=None,
+                   help="gallery .h5 built from --images with the same model: report "
+                        "agreement and separation of recomputed vs stored embeddings "
+                        "(a TensorRT-built gallery will not agree; see the docstring)")
+    args = p.parse_args()
+
+    if (args.calib_a is None) != (args.calib_b is None):
+        return err("--calib-a and --calib-b must be given together")
+
+    models_dir = Path(args.models_dir)
+    arcface = Path(args.arcface) if args.arcface else models_dir / "LVFace-B_Glint360K.onnx"
+    detector = Path(args.detector) if args.detector else models_dir / "scrfd_500m_bnkps.onnx"
+    for path, what in ((arcface, "embedder"), (detector, "detector")):
+        if not path.is_file():
+            return err(f"{what} model not found: {path}\n"
+                       f"Run: bash scripts/download_models.sh")
+
+    images_root = Path(args.images)
+    if not images_root.is_dir():
+        return err(f"image cache not found: {images_root}")
+
+    sizes = sorted({int(s) for s in args.sizes.split(",") if s.strip()})
+    if not sizes:
+        return err("--sizes is empty")
+    if args.probes_per_actor < 1:
+        return err("--probes-per-actor must be >= 1")
+
+    cv2.setRNGSeed(args.seed)  # estimateAffinePartial2D's RANSAC draws from this
+
+    # ── actor pool ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    pool = discover_actors(images_root)
+    print(f"[select] {len(pool)} actor dirs with images under {images_root}",
+          file=sys.stderr)
+    if args.gallery:
+        ids, names = gallery_keys(Path(args.gallery))
+        pool = [a for a in pool
+                if (a["jellyfin_id"] and a["jellyfin_id"] in ids)
+                or normalise_name(a["name"]) in names]
+        print(f"[select] {len(pool)} of them are in {args.gallery}", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    need = max(args.min_images, args.probes_per_actor + 1)
+    eligible = [a for a in pool if len(a["images"]) >= need]
+    print(f"[select] {len(eligible)} have >= {need} mugshots", file=sys.stderr)
+    if len(eligible) < 2:
+        return err(f"need at least 2 actors with >= {need} mugshots; found "
+                   f"{len(eligible)}. Build the image cache first "
+                   f"(scripts/make_jellyfin_gallery.py) or lower --min-images.")
+
+    rng = random.Random(args.seed)
+    selected = sorted(rng.sample(eligible, min(args.actors, len(eligible))),
+                      key=lambda a: a["dir"].name)
+    if len(selected) < args.actors:
+        print(f"[select] WARNING: only {len(selected)} eligible actors, "
+              f"--actors {args.actors} requested. FPI is gallery-size dependent — "
+              f"see the caveat.", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    # ── detect + align every mugshot of the selected actors, once ─────────────
+    stages = Stages(str(detector), str(arcface), args.conf, args.nms)
+    print(f"[models] detector={detector.name} embedder={arcface.name} "
+          f"batch={stages.engine.max_batch} (provider chosen by the C++ backend: "
+          f"CUDA, then ROCm, then CPU)", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    t0 = time.time()
+    crops: list[np.ndarray] = []
+    rows: list[dict] = []          # parallel to crops: {actor, actor_idx, image}
+    actors: list[dict] = []
+    n_nodetect = 0
+    for a in selected:
+        actor_crops, actor_paths = [], []
+        for img_path in a["images"]:
+            img = cv2.imread(str(img_path))
+            if img is None:
+                n_nodetect += 1
+                continue
+            if args.max_side > 0 and max(img.shape[:2]) > args.max_side:
+                s = args.max_side / max(img.shape[:2])
+                img = cv2.resize(img, None, fx=s, fy=s, interpolation=cv2.INTER_AREA)
+            faces = stages.detect(img)
+            if not faces:
+                enhanced = stages.enhance(img)
+                faces = stages.detect(enhanced)
+                if faces:
+                    img = enhanced
+            if not faces:
+                n_nodetect += 1
+                continue
+            best = max(faces, key=lambda f: f.confidence)
+            crop = stages.align(img, best.landmarks)
+            if crop is None:
+                n_nodetect += 1
+                continue
+            actor_crops.append(crop)
+            actor_paths.append(img_path)
+        if len(actor_crops) < args.probes_per_actor + 1:
+            continue
+        ai = len(actors)
+        actors.append({"name": a["name"], "jellyfin_id": a["jellyfin_id"],
+                       "dir": a["dir"].name, "n_images": len(actor_crops)})
+        for crop, img_path in zip(actor_crops, actor_paths):
+            rows.append({"actor_idx": ai, "image": str(img_path)})
+            crops.append(crop)
+        if len(actors) % 20 == 0:
+            print(f"  [align] {len(actors)}/{len(selected)} actors, "
+                  f"{len(crops)} crops", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    if len(actors) < 2:
+        return err(f"only {len(actors)} actors survived detection/alignment — "
+                   f"nothing to match against")
+    print(f"[align] {len(actors)} actors, {len(crops)} aligned crops, "
+          f"{n_nodetect} images skipped (no face / unreadable) in "
+          f"{time.time() - t0:.1f}s", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    actor_of = np.array([r["actor_idx"] for r in rows], dtype=int)
+
+    # ── embed everything at native resolution ────────────────────────────────
+    t0 = time.time()
+    native = stages.embed(crops)
+    print(f"[embed] {len(crops)} native crops in {time.time() - t0:.1f}s",
+          file=sys.stderr)
+
+    if args.verify_against:
+        verify_embeddings(Path(args.verify_against), rows, native, actor_of)
+
+    # ── drop duplicate mugshots ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+    # The cache holds the same photograph twice for some actors (two provider
+    # URLs, one picture). A probe that is identical to a gallery reference is
+    # identified for free at every size, which flatters the whole curve, so
+    # remove duplicates the same way calibrate_gallery does.
+    n_dup = 0
+    if not args.keep_duplicates:
+        keep = np.ones(len(rows), bool)
+        for ai in range(len(actors)):
+            kept: list[int] = []
+            for i in np.nonzero(actor_of == ai)[0]:
+                if any(float(native[i] @ native[k]) > DEDUP_SIM for k in kept):
+                    keep[i] = False
+                else:
+                    kept.append(int(i))
+        n_dup = int((~keep).sum())
+
+        # An actor left with too few distinct mugshots to hold one out drops out.
+        counts = np.bincount(actor_of[keep], minlength=len(actors))
+        drop_actor = counts < args.probes_per_actor + 1
+        keep &= ~drop_actor[actor_of]
+
+        remap = np.full(len(actors), -1, dtype=int)
+        remap[~drop_actor] = np.arange(int((~drop_actor).sum()))
+        actors = [a for a, d in zip(actors, drop_actor) if not d]
+        rows = [r for r, k in zip(rows, keep) if k]
+        crops = [c for c, k in zip(crops, keep) if k]
+        native = native[keep]
+        actor_of = remap[actor_of[keep]]
+        for r, ai in zip(rows, actor_of):
+            r["actor_idx"] = int(ai)
+        for ai, a in enumerate(actors):
+            a["n_images"] = int(np.sum(actor_of == ai))
+        print(f"[dedup] dropped {n_dup} duplicate mugshots and "
+              f"{int(drop_actor.sum())} actors left with too few; "
+              f"{len(actors)} actors, {len(rows)} images remain", file=sys.stderr)
+        if len(actors) < 2:
+            return err("fewer than 2 actors survive de-duplication — the image "
+                       "cache holds too few distinct mugshots")
+
+    # ── hold out the probes ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    is_probe = np.zeros(len(rows), bool)
+    for ai in range(len(actors)):
+        idx = np.nonzero(actor_of == ai)[0]
+        # Seeded per actor so the choice does not depend on iteration order.
+        r = random.Random(f"{args.seed}:{actors[ai]['dir']}")
+        for pick in r.sample(list(idx), args.probes_per_actor):
+            is_probe[pick] = True
+    probe_rows = np.nonzero(is_probe)[0]
+    gal_rows = np.nonzero(~is_probe)[0]
+    print(f"[holdout] {len(probe_rows)} probes held out, "
+          f"{len(gal_rows)} gallery embeddings remain", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    gal_emb = native[gal_rows]
+    gal_actor = actor_of[gal_rows]
+    probe_actor = actor_of[probe_rows]
+
+    # Per-actor column masks for the best-of-N scan (identity_matcher_node).
+    actor_cols = [np.nonzero(gal_actor == ai)[0] for ai in range(len(actors))]
+    have_refs = np.array([len(c) > 0 for c in actor_cols])
+    if not have_refs.all():
+        return err("an actor ended up with no gallery references left; "
+                   "raise --min-images")
+
+    # ── calibration ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    if args.calib_a is not None:
+        cal = {"a": args.calib_a, "b": args.calib_b, "valid": True}
+        print(f"[calibration] using supplied a={cal['a']} b={cal['b']}", file=sys.stderr)
+    else:
+        cal = calibrate_gallery(gal_emb, gal_actor)
+    if not cal["valid"]:
+        return err(
+            "calibration could not be fitted, and this study will not fall back to a "
+            "raw cosine threshold (CLAUDE.md invariant). Use more actors with >= "
+            f"{MIN_EMB_FOR_POSITIVE} mugshots, or pass --calib-a/--calib-b from a "
+            "production gallery.")
+    log_prior_odds = float(np.log(args.match_prior / (1.0 - args.match_prior)))
+
+    # ── sweep ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    down, up = INTERP[args.down_interp], INTERP[args.up_interp]
+    probe_crops = [crops[i] for i in probe_rows]
+    results, per_probe = [], []
+    for size in sizes:
+        t0 = time.time()
+        degraded = [degrade(c, size, down, up) for c in probe_crops]
+        q = stages.embed(degraded)
+
+        sims = q @ gal_emb.T                                   # [n_probe, n_gal]
+        best_per_actor = np.stack([sims[:, cols].max(axis=1) for cols in actor_cols],
+                                  axis=1)                       # [n_probe, n_actor]
+        best_actor = best_per_actor.argmax(axis=1)
+        best_sim = best_per_actor.max(axis=1)
+        p_match = np.asarray(probability(best_sim, cal["a"], cal["b"], log_prior_odds))
+
+        accept = p_match > args.prob_threshold
+        correct = best_actor == probe_actor
+        tpi = int(np.sum(accept & correct))
+        fpi = int(np.sum(accept & ~correct))
+        unid = int(np.sum(~accept))
+        n = len(probe_rows)
+
+        results.append({
+            "size_px": size,
+            "n_probes": n,
+            "tpi": tpi, "fpi": fpi, "unidentified": unid,
+            "tpi_rate": tpi / n, "fpi_rate": fpi / n, "unidentified_rate": unid / n,
+            "rank1_rate": float(np.mean(correct)),
+            "mean_best_sim": float(np.mean(best_sim)),
+            "mean_p_match": float(np.mean(p_match)),
+            "mean_sim_true_actor": float(np.mean(
+                best_per_actor[np.arange(n), probe_actor])),
+        })
+        if args.per_probe:
+            for j in range(n):
+                per_probe.append({
+                    "size_px": size,
+                    "probe_image": rows[probe_rows[j]]["image"],
+                    "true_actor": actors[probe_actor[j]]["name"],
+                    "matched_actor": actors[best_actor[j]]["name"],
+                    "best_sim": float(best_sim[j]),
+                    "p_match": float(p_match[j]),
+                    "outcome": ("TPI" if accept[j] and correct[j]
+                                else "FPI" if accept[j] else "unidentified"),
+                })
+        print(f"[sweep] {size:3d}px  TPI {tpi:4d} ({100 * tpi / n:5.1f}%)  "
+              f"FPI {fpi:4d} ({100 * fpi / n:5.1f}%)  "
+              f"unid {unid:4d} ({100 * unid / n:5.1f}%)  "
+              f"rank1 {100 * np.mean(correct):5.1f}%  "
+              f"[{time.time() - t0:.1f}s]", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    op = pick_operating_point(results, args.tpi_retention, args.fpi_slack)
+
+    # ── outputs ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    out = Path(args.out)
+    out.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    # Append rather than with_suffix() so a prefix containing a dot keeps its name.
+    csv_path = out.with_name(out.name + ".csv")
+    json_path = out.with_name(out.name + ".json")
+    png_path = out.with_name(out.name + ".png")
+    fields = list(results[0].keys())
+    with open(csv_path, "w", newline="") as f:
+        w = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=fields)
+        w.writeheader()
+        w.writerows(results)
+
+    meta = {
+        "requirement": "VR-005",
+        "caveat": CAVEAT.format(n_actors=len(actors)),
+        "model": arcface.stem,
+        "detector": detector.stem,
+        "backend": "sae_embed / the compiled-in inference backend (fp32 ONNX under "
+                   "SAE_INFERENCE_BACKEND=ORT; a TensorRT fp16 build is a different "
+                   "embedding space)",
+        "n_actors": len(actors),
+        "n_probes": len(probe_rows),
+        "n_gallery_embeddings": len(gal_rows),
+        "probes_per_actor": args.probes_per_actor,
+        "seed": args.seed,
+        "sizes": sizes,
+        "prob_threshold": args.prob_threshold,
+        "match_prior": args.match_prior,
+        "calibration": cal,
+        "calibration_source": "supplied" if args.calib_a is not None else "fitted",
+        "sim_boundary_at_threshold": float(
+            (np.log(args.prob_threshold / (1 - args.prob_threshold))
+             - cal["b"] - log_prior_odds) / cal["a"]),
+        "down_interp": args.down_interp,
+        "up_interp": args.up_interp,
+        "max_side": args.max_side,
+        "duplicate_mugshots_dropped": n_dup,
+        "operating_point_rule": (
+            f"smallest size retaining >= {args.tpi_retention:.0%} of the 112 px "
+            f"control TPI rate with <= +{args.fpi_slack:.1%} absolute FPI"),
+        "operating_point": op,
+        "images_skipped_no_face": n_nodetect,
+        "curve": results,
+        "actors": actors,
+    }
+    json_path.write_text(json.dumps(meta, indent=2) + "\n")
+
+    if per_probe:
+        pp = out.with_name(out.name + ".per_probe.csv")
+        with open(pp, "w", newline="") as f:
+            w = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=list(per_probe[0].keys()))
+            w.writeheader()
+            w.writerows(per_probe)
+        print(f"[out] {pp}", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    write_plot(results, png_path, meta)
+
+    # ── stdout report ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    print(f"\nVR-005 — minimum face size, {arcface.stem}")
+    print(f"{len(actors)} actors, {len(probe_rows)} probes/size, "
+          f"{len(gal_rows)} gallery embeddings at native resolution")
+    print(f"identify when P>{args.prob_threshold}, i.e. cosine above "
+          f"{meta['sim_boundary_at_threshold']:.4f} under the calibration fitted "
+          f"on this gallery\n")
+    print(f"{'size':>5} {'TPI':>8} {'FPI':>8} {'unid':>8} {'rank1':>8} {'mean sim':>9}")
+    for r in results:
+        print(f"{r['size_px']:>5} {100 * r['tpi_rate']:>7.1f}% "
+              f"{100 * r['fpi_rate']:>7.1f}% {100 * r['unidentified_rate']:>7.1f}% "
+              f"{100 * r['rank1_rate']:>7.1f}% {r['mean_best_sim']:>9.4f}")
+    print(f"\noperating point: {op if op else 'none of the swept sizes qualifies'}"
+          f"   ({meta['operating_point_rule']})")
+    print(f"\n{meta['caveat']}")
+    print(f"\n[out] {csv_path}\n[out] {json_path}\n[out] {png_path}")
+    return 0
+
+
+def _separation(emb: np.ndarray, actor: np.ndarray) -> tuple[float, float, float]:
+    """(mean same-actor sim, mean different-actor sim, d') — the property that has
+    to survive for an embedding space to be usable, whatever its coordinates."""
+    iu, ju = np.triu_indices(len(actor), k=1)
+    sims = (emb @ emb.T)[iu, ju]
+    same = actor[iu] == actor[ju]
+    pos = sims[same & (sims < 0.9999)]   # drop duplicate source images
+    neg = sims[~same]
+    if pos.size < 2 or neg.size < 2:
+        return float("nan"), float("nan"), float("nan")
+    d = (pos.mean() - neg.mean()) / np.sqrt(0.5 * (pos.var() + neg.var()))
+    return float(pos.mean()), float(neg.mean()), float(d)
+
+
+def verify_embeddings(gallery_path: Path, rows: list[dict], native: np.ndarray,
+                      actor_of: np.ndarray) -> None:
+    """Cross-check this script's ONNX port against a gallery built by the C++
+    pipeline from the same mugshots.
+
+    Agreement is ~1.0 only if that gallery was built with the same backend. A
+    TensorRT fp16 build lands around 0.85 on LVFace-B while separating just as
+    well, so the separation figures — not the agreement — are what says whether
+    the port is sound."""
+    from sae_gallery import load_gallery_hdf5
+    g = load_gallery_hdf5(gallery_path)
+    stored: dict[tuple[str, str], np.ndarray] = {}
+    for a in g["actors"]:
+        key = a.get("jellyfin_id") or normalise_name(a.get("name", ""))
+        for e, src in zip(a.get("embeddings", []), a.get("source_images", [])):
+            if src:
+                stored[(key, src)] = np.asarray(e, np.float32)
+
+    sims, paired_mine, paired_ref, paired_actor = [], [], [], []
+    for i, r in enumerate(rows):
+        path = Path(r["image"])
+        head, _, _ = path.parent.name.partition("_")
+        key = head if JELLYFIN_ID_RE.match(head) else normalise_name(
+            path.parent.name.replace("_", " "))
+        ref = stored.get((key, path.name))
+        if ref is None or ref.shape != native[i].shape:
+            continue
+        ref = ref / max(float(np.linalg.norm(ref)), 1e-6)
+        sims.append(float(native[i] @ ref))
+        paired_mine.append(native[i])
+        paired_ref.append(ref)
+        paired_actor.append(actor_of[i])
+    if not sims:
+        print(f"[verify] no overlap with {gallery_path} — nothing checked",
+              file=sys.stderr)
+        return
+
+    sims_arr = np.asarray(sims)
+    print(f"[verify] {len(sims)} embeddings vs {gallery_path.name}: "
+          f"mean cos={sims_arr.mean():.4f}  min={sims_arr.min():.4f}",
+          file=sys.stderr)
+    act = np.asarray(paired_actor)
+    for label, mat in (("this script", np.asarray(paired_mine)),
+                       ("stored gallery", np.asarray(paired_ref))):
+        pos, neg, d = _separation(mat, act)
+        print(f"[verify]   {label:>14s}: same-actor {pos:.3f}  "
+              f"different-actor {neg:.3f}  d'={d:.2f}", file=sys.stderr)
+    if sims_arr.mean() < 0.99:
+        print("[verify]   embeddings differ from the stored gallery. If d' is "
+              "comparable this is a backend difference (e.g. a TensorRT fp16 "
+              "build), not a broken port; the study is self-consistent either "
+              "way. If d' collapsed, the port is wrong.", file=sys.stderr)
+
+
+def err(msg: str) -> int:
+    print(f"error: {msg}", file=sys.stderr)
+    return 2
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())