diff --git a/dream-server/Makefile b/dream-server/Makefile
index 50d5081c1..aac9d8cb6 100644
--- a/dream-server/Makefile
+++ b/dream-server/Makefile
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ test: ## Run unit and contract tests
 	@echo "=== Overlay/plist contracts ==="
 	@bash tests/contracts/test-overlay-map-coherence.sh
 	@bash tests/contracts/test-plist-log-paths.sh
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "=== dream list --json clean-stdout regression ==="
+	@bash tests/test-dream-list-json-clean-stdout.sh
 
 bats: ## Run BATS unit tests for shell libraries
 	@echo "=== BATS unit tests ==="
diff --git a/dream-server/dream-cli b/dream-server/dream-cli
index acb54702a..9416bf743 100755
--- a/dream-server/dream-cli
+++ b/dream-server/dream-cli
@@ -539,6 +539,21 @@ get_compose_flags() {
 #=============================================================================
 
 cmd_status() {
+    local json_mode="false"
+    while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+        case "$1" in
+            --json) json_mode="true"; shift ;;
+            *) error "Unknown argument to 'dream status': $1" ;;
+        esac
+    done
+
+    if [[ "$json_mode" == "true" ]]; then
+        # Subshell isolates cmd_status_json's RETURN trap so it can't leak
+        # into this caller's frame and re-fire with an unbound $tmp under set -u.
+        ( cmd_status_json )
+        return $?
+    fi
+
     check_install
     cd "$INSTALL_DIR"
     load_env
@@ -1733,10 +1748,42 @@ cmd_purge() {
 }
 
 cmd_list() {
+    local json_mode="false"
+    while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+        case "$1" in
+            --json) json_mode="true"; shift ;;
+            *) error "Unknown argument to 'dream list': $1" ;;
+        esac
+    done
+
     sr_load
     load_env 2>/dev/null || true
     local active_flags
     active_flags=$(get_compose_flags)
+
+    if [[ "$json_mode" == "true" ]]; then
+        # JSON output: array of {id, category, status}
+        local _first=1
+        printf '['
+        for sid in "${SERVICE_IDS[@]}"; do
+            local cat="${SERVICE_CATEGORIES[$sid]}"
+            local cf="${SERVICE_COMPOSE[$sid]}"
+            local status
+            if [[ "$cat" == "core" ]]; then
+                status="always-on"
+            elif [[ -n "$cf" && -f "$cf" && "$active_flags" == *"${cf#"$INSTALL_DIR/"}"* ]]; then
+                status="enabled"
+            else
+                status="disabled"
+            fi
+            (( _first == 1 )) || printf ','
+            printf '{"id":"%s","category":"%s","status":"%s"}' "$sid" "$cat" "$status"
+            _first=0
+        done
+        printf ']\n'
+        return 0
+    fi
+
     echo -e "${BLUE}━━━ Available Services ━━━${NC}"
     printf "%-20s %-12s %-10s\n" "SERVICE" "CATEGORY" "STATUS"
     printf "%-20s %-12s %-10s\n" "$(hr 20)" "$(hr 12)" "$(hr 10)"
@@ -3398,9 +3445,9 @@ Usage: dream <command> [options]
 ${CYAN}Commands:${NC}
   gpu [status|topology|assignment|validate|reassign]
                       Inspect and manage multi-GPU configuration
-  status              Show service health and GPU status
-  status-json         Machine-readable status (JSON) with mode/tier/model
-  list                List all services and their status
+  status [--json]     Show service health and GPU status (--json = machine-readable)
+  status-json         Alias for 'status --json' (kept for back-compat)
+  list [--json]       List all services and their status (--json = machine-readable)
   enable <service>    Enable an extension service
   disable <service>   Disable an extension service
   purge <service>     Permanently delete service data
@@ -3425,7 +3472,7 @@ ${CYAN}Commands:${NC}
                       View, edit, or validate configuration
   chat "<message>"    Quick chat with the LLM
   benchmark           Run a quick performance test
-  doctor [report]     Run diagnostics and write JSON report
+  doctor [report|--json]   Run diagnostics (--json writes JSON to stdout)
   repair|fix          Run basic repairs (currently redirects to doctor)
   template [action]   Apply pre-built service templates (list|preview|apply)
   audit [extensions]  Audit extension manifests and compose contracts
@@ -3523,9 +3570,9 @@ EOF
 #=============================================================================
 case "${1:-help}" in
     gpu|g)       shift; cmd_gpu "$@" ;;
-    status|s)    cmd_status ;;
+    status|s)    shift; cmd_status "$@" ;;
     status-json) cmd_status_json ;;
-    list|ls)     cmd_list ;;
+    list|ls)     shift; cmd_list "$@" ;;
     enable)      shift; cmd_enable "$@" ;;
     disable)     shift; cmd_disable "$@" ;;
     purge)       shift; cmd_purge "$@" ;;
diff --git a/dream-server/tests/test-dream-list-json-clean-stdout.sh b/dream-server/tests/test-dream-list-json-clean-stdout.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..82e7d9c44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dream-server/tests/test-dream-list-json-clean-stdout.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# ============================================================================
+# Regression: `dream list --json` keeps stdout valid JSON even when registry
+# loading emits diagnostics on stderr.
+# ============================================================================
+# Audit follow-up on PR #1000 (Lightheartdevs, 2026-04-28):
+#
+#   "Now that #1006 has moved log()/warn() to stderr on main, please rebase
+#    and add a regression proving `dream list --json` remains valid JSON
+#    when PyYAML/registry loading warnings occur."
+#
+# This test:
+#   1. Scaffolds a hermetic install dir (copy of dream-cli + minimal lib/)
+#      with one VALID extension manifest and one BROKEN manifest (missing
+#      required `service.id` field).
+#   2. Runs `dream-cli list --json`, capturing stdout and stderr separately.
+#   3. Asserts stdout parses as JSON, contains the valid extension, and
+#      excludes the broken one.
+#   4. Asserts stderr contains the registry's `# SKIP:` diagnostic for the
+#      broken manifest — proving the warning fired during sr_load.
+#   5. Asserts stdout has no leakage from stderr.
+# ============================================================================
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+ROOT_DIR="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+DREAM_CLI="$ROOT_DIR/dream-cli"
+
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+NC='\033[0m'
+
+PASSED=0
+FAILED=0
+
+pass() { echo -e "  ${GREEN}✓ PASS${NC} $1"; PASSED=$((PASSED + 1)); }
+fail() { echo -e "  ${RED}✗ FAIL${NC} $1"; FAILED=$((FAILED + 1)); }
+
+echo ""
+echo "╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════╗"
+echo "║   dream list --json — clean stdout regression ║"
+echo "╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════╝"
+echo ""
+
+if [[ ! -x "$DREAM_CLI" ]]; then
+    fail "dream-cli not found at $DREAM_CLI"
+    echo ""; echo "Result: $PASSED passed, $FAILED failed"; exit 1
+fi
+if ! command -v python3 &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "  ⊘ SKIP — python3 required for JSON parse assertion"
+    exit 0
+fi
+if ! python3 -c 'import yaml' &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "  ⊘ SKIP — PyYAML required for sr_load (install: pip3 install pyyaml)"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Hermetic scaffold so SCRIPT_DIR resolves inside the tempdir, isolating
+# EXTENSIONS_DIR from the live repo.
+TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+stdout_file="$TEMP_DIR/stdout.txt"
+stderr_file="$TEMP_DIR/stderr.txt"
+trap 'rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"' EXIT
+
+cp "$DREAM_CLI" "$TEMP_DIR/dream-cli"
+mkdir -p "$TEMP_DIR/lib"
+# Required: dream-cli unconditionally sources service-registry.sh.
+cp "$ROOT_DIR/lib/service-registry.sh" "$TEMP_DIR/lib/"
+# Optional helpers — cp only if present so the test still runs on
+# trees that haven't landed them. Failure here would still propagate
+# (no `|| true`) — we want a missing-file regression to surface.
+[[ -f "$ROOT_DIR/lib/safe-env.sh"   ]] && cp "$ROOT_DIR/lib/safe-env.sh"   "$TEMP_DIR/lib/"
+[[ -f "$ROOT_DIR/lib/python-cmd.sh" ]] && cp "$ROOT_DIR/lib/python-cmd.sh" "$TEMP_DIR/lib/"
+
+# Valid extension — should appear in the JSON output.
+mkdir -p "$TEMP_DIR/extensions/services/valid-svc"
+cat > "$TEMP_DIR/extensions/services/valid-svc/manifest.yaml" <<'EOF'
+schema_version: dream.services.v1
+service:
+  id: valid-svc
+  name: Valid Service
+  category: optional
+  port: 9999
+  compose_file: compose.yaml
+  gpu_backends: [all]
+EOF
+
+# Broken extension — missing `service.id`. Triggers
+#   `# SKIP: <path>: missing required "id" field`
+# on stderr from sr_load's Python parser, while sr_load continues.
+mkdir -p "$TEMP_DIR/extensions/services/broken-svc"
+cat > "$TEMP_DIR/extensions/services/broken-svc/manifest.yaml" <<'EOF'
+schema_version: dream.services.v1
+service:
+  port: 8888
+  compose_file: compose.yaml
+EOF
+
+# Run dream list --json with isolated install dir.
+#
+# Set DREAM_HOME so INSTALL_DIR resolves to the tempdir; SCRIPT_DIR is
+# computed by dream-cli from BASH_SOURCE[0], which is the copy in tempdir.
+# Disable colour output so stdout is byte-exact JSON.
+rc=0
+NO_COLOR=1 DREAM_HOME="$TEMP_DIR" "$TEMP_DIR/dream-cli" list --json \
+    > "$stdout_file" 2> "$stderr_file" || rc=$?
+
+# 1. Exit code clean (sr_load tolerates broken manifests, list shouldn't fail).
+if [[ "$rc" -eq 0 ]]; then
+    pass "dream list --json exited 0"
+else
+    fail "dream list --json exited $rc"
+    echo "  --- stderr ---"; cat "$stderr_file" | sed 's/^/  /'
+fi
+
+# 2. stdout parses as valid JSON.
+if python3 -c 'import json,sys; json.loads(open(sys.argv[1]).read())' "$stdout_file" 2>/dev/null; then
+    pass "stdout parses as valid JSON"
+else
+    fail "stdout is NOT valid JSON"
+    echo "  --- stdout ---"; cat "$stdout_file" | sed 's/^/  /'
+fi
+
+# 3. JSON includes the valid extension and excludes the broken one.
+if python3 -c '
+import json, sys
+data = json.loads(open(sys.argv[1]).read())
+ids = {entry["id"] for entry in data}
+assert "valid-svc" in ids, f"valid-svc missing from {ids}"
+assert "broken-svc" not in ids, f"broken-svc leaked through: {ids}"
+' "$stdout_file" 2>/dev/null; then
+    pass "valid extension present, broken extension correctly skipped"
+else
+    fail "extension membership wrong in JSON"
+    echo "  --- stdout ---"; cat "$stdout_file" | sed 's/^/  /'
+fi
+
+# 4. stderr received the registry diagnostic — proving the warning fired
+#    while we were collecting stdout. Match the literal `# SKIP:` prefix
+#    that lib/service-registry.sh:117-151 emits, not just the substring
+#    `SKIP` (which other code paths could legitimately emit later).
+if grep -q "# SKIP:" "$stderr_file"; then
+    pass "stderr contains '# SKIP:' diagnostic from sr_load"
+else
+    fail "stderr missing expected '# SKIP:' diagnostic"
+    echo "  --- stderr ---"; cat "$stderr_file" | sed 's/^/  /'
+fi
+
+# 5. stdout has no leakage from stderr (registry diagnostics, log/warn
+#    sigils, ANSI colour escapes). Use $'\x1b' (literal ESC byte 0x1B)
+#    in the bash regex test so the ANSI check is real, not a string
+#    match against the four-character sequence "\033[".
+if grep -qE '# SKIP:|^⚠|^\[dream\]' "$stdout_file" \
+   || [[ "$(cat "$stdout_file")" == *$'\x1b['* ]]; then
+    fail "stdout contains stderr-style content (would break jq pipelines)"
+    echo "  --- stdout ---"; cat "$stdout_file" | sed 's/^/  /'
+else
+    pass "stdout free of stderr leakage (jq-safe)"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "Result: $PASSED passed, $FAILED failed"
+[[ $FAILED -eq 0 ]]