diff --git a/bin/index-append b/bin/index-append
index ef7b125..3b89a2f 100755
--- a/bin/index-append
+++ b/bin/index-append
@@ -28,11 +28,21 @@ t=open(sys.argv[1],encoding='utf-8',errors='ignore').read()
 m=re.search(r'\*\*Verdict\*\*:\s*(.+)',t); print((m.group(1).strip() if m else '-')[:160])
 PY
 )"
+# The old regex assumed the first item was a `- ` bullet, so a numbered list (`1. …`) matched
+# nothing → '-'. The close still succeeded and the log still printed "appended" — the failure
+# was invisible. Take the section's first substantive line and strip only the list marker.
 CLOSED="$(python3 - "$SUM" <<'PY'
 import re,sys
 t=open(sys.argv[1],encoding='utf-8',errors='ignore').read()
-m=re.search(r'##\s*What was closed[^\n]*\n(?:>.*\n)*-\s*(.+)',t)
-print((m.group(1).strip() if m else '-')[:240])
+m=re.search(r'##\s*What was closed[^\n]*\n(.*?)(?=\n##\s|\Z)', t, re.S)
+out='-'
+if m:
+    for ln in m.group(1).split('\n'):
+        s=ln.strip()
+        if not s or s.startswith('>'): continue
+        s=re.sub(r'^(?:[-*+]|\d+[.)])\s+','',s).strip()   # list marker only ( `**1.` is content )
+        if s: out=s; break
+print(out[:240])
 PY
 )"
 
@@ -53,3 +63,7 @@ REL="${ARC_DIR#"$SCRIPT_DIR"/../}"
   printf -- '- source: %s\n\n' "$REL"
 } >> "$INDEX"
 echo "  📚 knowledge index appended: ${INDEX}"
+# Never fail silently: if the conclusion could not be extracted, say so next to the success line.
+# Still best-effort — this must not block the close.
+[ "$CLOSED" = "-" ] && echo "  ⚠️ could not extract 'What was closed' → entry indexed empty. Check the _SUMMARY format and fill this row by hand: $SUM"
+exit 0
diff --git a/tests/test_gates.sh b/tests/test_gates.sh
index 7f4acf1..6ca1a92 100755
--- a/tests/test_gates.sh
+++ b/tests/test_gates.sh
@@ -83,6 +83,32 @@ printf -- '- [x] decoy. verify: `false` verify: `true`\n' > "$T3"
 "$BIN/verify-gate" "$T3" --revert >/dev/null 2>&1
 grep -q '^- \[ \] decoy' "$T3" && echo "  ✓ decoy double-verify reverted (first block wins)" || { echo "  ✗ decoy passed (greedy bug)"; FAIL=1; }
 
+# --- index-append: the conclusion must survive any list style, and a miss must be loud ---
+# Regression: the extractor used to assume a `- ` bullet, so a numbered list silently indexed
+# an empty conclusion while still logging success. Observed in the wild, not hypothetical.
+IDX_ARC="$WS/idx_arc"; mkdir -p "$IDX_ARC"; export YEOUL_INDEX="$WS/KI.md"
+idx_case() { # idx_case <desc> <first-line-of-section> <expected-substring>
+  rm -f "$YEOUL_INDEX"
+  printf '# close\n- **Closed**: 2026-01-01\n- **stop_reason**: converged\n- **Verdict**: v\n\n## What was closed\n%s\n\n## Evidence\n- none\n' \
+    "$2" > "$IDX_ARC/_SUMMARY_idx_arc.md"
+  "$BIN/index-append" "$IDX_ARC" >/dev/null 2>&1
+  grep -qF "$3" "$YEOUL_INDEX" && echo "  ✓ index-append: $1" || { echo "  ✗ index-append: $1 — '$3' not indexed"; FAIL=1; }
+}
+idx_case "bullet list"        '- bullet conclusion'   '**Closed**: bullet conclusion'
+idx_case "numbered list"      '1. numbered conclusion' '**Closed**: numbered conclusion'
+idx_case "paren-numbered"     '1) paren conclusion'    '**Closed**: paren conclusion'
+idx_case "bold-numbered kept" '**1. bold conclusion**' '**Closed**: **1. bold conclusion**'
+idx_case "leading blockquote" '> note line
+- after the quote'                                     '**Closed**: after the quote'
+# a genuine miss must be visible in the output, not silent
+rm -f "$YEOUL_INDEX"
+printf '# close\n- **Closed**: 2026-01-01\n- **stop_reason**: converged\n- **Verdict**: v\n\n## Evidence\n- none\n' \
+  > "$IDX_ARC/_SUMMARY_idx_arc.md"
+"$BIN/index-append" "$IDX_ARC" 2>&1 | grep -q "could not extract" \
+  && echo "  ✓ index-append warns loudly when extraction misses" \
+  || { echo "  ✗ index-append failed silently"; FAIL=1; }
+"$BIN/index-append" "$IDX_ARC" >/dev/null 2>&1; assert "index-append never blocks the close" 0 $?
+
 echo
 if [ "$FAIL" -eq 0 ]; then echo "✅ all gate tests passed"; else echo "⛔ gate tests FAILED"; fi
 exit "$FAIL"