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diff --git a/‎PLAN.md‎
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diff --git a/‎docs/development/architecture/cross-system.md‎
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diff --git a/‎docs/guides/schemas.md‎
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diff --git a/‎internal/config/kinds_test.go‎
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@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ footer: |
 | 153 | ✅     | opus   | [Unify linkgraph and the LSP symbol index](plan/153_unify-linkgraph-and-lsp-index.md)                                     |
 | 154 | ✅     | sonnet | [arch-fix: extract cross-rule helpers](plan/154_arch-fix-rule-helper-extraction.md)                                       |
 | 155 | ✅     | sonnet | [arch-fix: relocate convention types out of markdownflavor](plan/155_arch-fix-convention-config-ownership.md)             |
-| 156 | 🔲     | opus   | [Composable required-structure schemas across multiple kinds](plan/156_kind-schema-composition.md)                        |
+| 156 | ✅     | opus   | [Composable required-structure schemas across multiple kinds](plan/156_kind-schema-composition.md)                        |
 | 156 | ✅     | opus   | [Section schema — unify entry shape under `heading:` discriminator](plan/156_schema-entry-unification.md)                 |
 | 157 | ✅     | sonnet | [Catalog filter by front matter property](plan/157_catalog-where-filter.md)                                               |
 | 160 | 🔲     | sonnet | [Claude Code plugin extensions — skills, agents, hooks](plan/160_claude-code-skills-agents-hooks.md)                      |
@@ -95,4 +95,5 @@ footer: |
 | 166 | 🔲     | opus   | [Schema-driven data extraction (mdsmith extract)](plan/166_schema-driven-data-extraction.md)                              |
 | 167 | 🔲     | opus   | [Custom binding overrides for mdsmith extract](plan/167_custom-binding-overrides.md)                                      |
 | 168 | 🔲     | sonnet | [Obsidian Flavored Markdown support](plan/168_obsidian-markdown-support.md)                                               |
+| 169 | 🔲     | opus   | [Enforce terminal Meta-Information and render it from frontmatter](plan/169_rule-readme-meta-information-sync.md)         |
 <?/catalog?>
@@ -106,6 +106,26 @@ not have is a Liskov violation. Push
 the flag down to the binary, or drop it
 from the shim.
 
+## Schema composition across kinds
+
+When a file resolves to several kinds that each
+declare a `required-structure` schema, the
+schemas compose. Three rules apply:
+
+- Frontmatter conjoins. A key required by any
+  kind is required. Shared keys intersect with
+  CUE `&`.
+- Sections merge. Scopes with the same heading
+  text combine their child lists. Other scopes
+  append in input order.
+- The stricter `closed:` wins.
+
+Multiple kinds can layer schemas. For example,
+`directive-rule-readme` builds on top of
+`rule-readme`. See the
+[Schemas guide](../../guides/schemas.md) for a
+worked example.
+
 ## Versioning policy (post-1.0)
 
 Today mdsmith is at major 0; the rules
 
@@ -436,6 +436,101 @@ A project can mix sources across kinds — some kinds use
 inline schemas, others use `proto.md` — but a single
 kind must pick one.
 
+## Composition across kinds
+
+A file resolved by multiple kinds that each declare a
+`required-structure` schema gets the composition of all
+of them — not just the last one. The merge layer
+accumulates each kind's `schema:` or `inline-schema:`
+into a `schema-sources` list, and MDS020 loads every
+source and composes them at check time.
+
+The composition rules are:
+
+- **Frontmatter** keys union across schemas. A key
+  required by any input is required. Two schemas
+  constraining the same key get the intersection of
+  their CUE expressions (joined with `&`).
+- **Sections** merge by literal heading text. Scopes
+  that share the same heading combine their child
+  lists recursively. Scopes that differ — including
+  wildcard slots (`{unlisted: true}`), the preamble
+  (`null`), and the bare `?` wildcard — append in
+  input order.
+- **`closed:`** is OR-ed across inputs. Any scope that
+  was strict in any input is strict in the composed
+  scope.
+- **`require.filename`** picks the first non-empty
+  pattern. Conflicting patterns are a config error.
+
+### Worked example: directive-rule-readme + rule-readme
+
+The four directive READMEs in this repository
+(`MDS019-catalog`, `MDS021-include`, `MDS038-toc`,
+`MDS039-build`) resolve to both `rule-readme` and
+`directive-rule-readme`. The first kind contributes
+the common rule-README structure (`Config`,
+`Examples`, `Meta-Information`); the second only adds
+a required `Pattern` section.
+
+```yaml
+kinds:
+  rule-readme:
+    rules:
+      required-structure:
+        schema: internal/rules/proto.md
+  directive-rule-readme:
+    rules:
+      required-structure:
+        schema: internal/rules/directive-proto.md
+
+kind-assignment:
+  - glob: ["internal/rules/MDS*/README.md"]
+    kinds: [rule-readme]
+  - glob: ["internal/rules/MDS019-catalog/README.md", …]
+    kinds: [directive-rule-readme]
+```
+
+`directive-proto.md` declares only what's specific to
+directive rules:
+
+```markdown
+---
+nature: '"directive"'
+---
+# {id}: {name}
+
+## ...
+
+## Pattern
+
+### Without the directive
+### With the directive
+
+## ...
+```
+
+The composed schema requires the union of both
+sections lists. `rule-readme`'s `nature` is
+`"directive" | "generator" | "content" | "style" |
+"structure"`; `directive-rule-readme`'s narrower
+`"directive"` intersects to require exactly
+`"directive"` on every file resolving to both kinds.
+
+### Picking an input order
+
+The composed section list is the concatenation of each
+schema's sections (with same-heading scopes merged).
+Order matters for the "last required section" — if the
+later schema's required sections must appear before
+the earlier schema's required sections in the document,
+either reorder the kinds in `kind-assignment` or rewrite
+the document so the sections fall in composed order.
+The directive READMEs put `Pattern` after
+`Meta-Information` precisely so the composed ordering
+(`rule-readme` first, `directive-rule-readme` appended)
+matches the document layout.
+
 ## Diagnostics
 
 Schema diagnostics surface through
 
@@ -471,7 +471,9 @@ func TestValidateKinds_AcceptsValidPathPattern(t *testing.T) {
 // settings while injecting the synthetic `path-patterns` entry on
 // top of them. Without this, a kind that both disables a rule and
 // declares a `path-pattern:` would have its `body.Rules` ignored in
-// `kinds resolve` / `--explain` output.
+// `kinds resolve` / `--explain` output. The `schema:` setting is
+// translated to a `schema-sources` entry so the provenance chain
+// reflects the deep-merged form rather than the raw user input.
 func TestKindLayerRules_MergesPathPatternWithExistingRules(t *testing.T) {
 	body := KindBody{
 		PathPattern: "plan/*.md",
@@ -486,7 +488,11 @@ func TestKindLayerRules_MergesPathPatternWithExistingRules(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.False(t, out["line-length"].Enabled)
 	rs := out["required-structure"]
 	assert.True(t, rs.Enabled)
-	assert.Equal(t, "plan/proto.md", rs.Settings["schema"],
+	sources, ok := rs.Settings["schema-sources"].([]any)
+	require.True(t, ok, "schema-sources must accumulate body.Rules schema source")
+	require.Len(t, sources, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, "plan/proto.md",
+		sources[0].(map[string]any)["file"],
 		"existing required-structure settings must be preserved")
 	list := rs.Settings["path-patterns"].([]any)
 	require.Len(t, list, 1)
@@ -497,8 +503,7 @@ func TestKindLayerRules_MergesPathPatternWithExistingRules(t *testing.T) {
 // that a kind declaring both `schema:` (an inline schema map) and
 // `path-pattern:` lands BOTH synthetic settings in the provenance
 // layer chain — without this, `kinds resolve` / `--explain` would
-// drop the inline-schema leaf even though effectiveRules applies
-// it.
+// drop the schema source leaf even though effectiveRules applies it.
 func TestKindLayerRules_MirrorsInlineSchemaAndPathPattern(t *testing.T) {
 	body := KindBody{
 		PathPattern: "plan/*.md",
@@ -512,9 +517,13 @@ func TestKindLayerRules_MirrorsInlineSchemaAndPathPattern(t *testing.T) {
 	rs := out["required-structure"]
 	assert.True(t, rs.Enabled)
 
-	schema, ok := rs.Settings["inline-schema"].(map[string]any)
-	require.True(t, ok, "inline-schema must be injected as a map")
-	assert.Contains(t, schema, "sections")
+	sources, ok := rs.Settings["schema-sources"].([]any)
+	require.True(t, ok, "schema-sources must be injected as a list")
+	require.Len(t, sources, 1)
+	entry := sources[0].(map[string]any)
+	inlineMap, ok := entry["inline"].(map[string]any)
+	require.True(t, ok, "inline entry must wrap the schema map")
+	assert.Contains(t, inlineMap, "sections")
 
 	list, ok := rs.Settings["path-patterns"].([]any)
 	require.True(t, ok)
@@ -523,6 +532,85 @@ func TestKindLayerRules_MirrorsInlineSchemaAndPathPattern(t *testing.T) {
 		list[0].(map[string]any)["pattern"])
 }
 
+// TestKindLayerRules_TranslatesBodyRulesSchema covers the provenance
+// translation of body.Rules' legacy `schema:` setting when the kind
+// has neither `KindBody.Schema` (inline map) nor `path-pattern:`.
+// The provenance chain must surface `schema-sources` for that case
+// too, so explainers don't show a stale `schema:` key.
+func TestKindLayerRules_TranslatesBodyRulesSchema(t *testing.T) {
+	body := KindBody{
+		Rules: map[string]RuleCfg{
+			"required-structure": {
+				Enabled: true,
+				Settings: map[string]any{
+					"schema": "plan/proto.md",
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	out := kindLayerRules("plan", body)
+	rs := out["required-structure"]
+	sources, ok := rs.Settings["schema-sources"].([]any)
+	require.True(t, ok)
+	require.Len(t, sources, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, "plan/proto.md", sources[0].(map[string]any)["file"])
+	assert.NotContains(t, rs.Settings, "schema",
+		"legacy schema key should be stripped after translation")
+}
+
+// TestKindLayerRules_NoTranslationNeededReturnsSameMap exercises the
+// fast path: a body whose required-structure entry has no schema
+// keys should not allocate a new rules map.
+func TestKindLayerRules_NoTranslationNeededReturnsSameMap(t *testing.T) {
+	body := KindBody{
+		Rules: map[string]RuleCfg{
+			"required-structure": {
+				Enabled: true,
+				Settings: map[string]any{
+					"placeholders": []any{"cue-frontmatter"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	out := kindLayerRules("plan", body)
+	// The function returns body.Rules directly in this path because
+	// neither body.Schema nor body.PathPattern is set, and the
+	// required-structure entry has no schema source to translate.
+	assert.Equal(t, body.Rules["required-structure"].Settings["placeholders"],
+		out["required-structure"].Settings["placeholders"])
+	assert.NotContains(t, out["required-structure"].Settings, "schema-sources")
+}
+
+// TestKindLayerRules_BodyRulesInlineSchemaTranslated covers the
+// `inline-schema:` translation in body.Rules (parallel to the
+// file-path translation above).
+func TestKindLayerRules_BodyRulesInlineSchemaTranslated(t *testing.T) {
+	body := KindBody{
+		Rules: map[string]RuleCfg{
+			"required-structure": {
+				Enabled: true,
+				Settings: map[string]any{
+					"inline-schema": map[string]any{
+						"sections": []any{
+							map[string]any{"heading": "Goal"},
+						},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	out := kindLayerRules("plan", body)
+	rs := out["required-structure"]
+	sources, ok := rs.Settings["schema-sources"].([]any)
+	require.True(t, ok)
+	require.Len(t, sources, 1)
+	inlineMap, ok := sources[0].(map[string]any)["inline"].(map[string]any)
+	require.True(t, ok)
+	assert.Contains(t, inlineMap, "sections")
+	assert.NotContains(t, rs.Settings, "inline-schema",
+		"legacy inline-schema key should be stripped after translation")
+}
+
 // --- helpers ---
 
 func loadFromString(t *testing.T, yml string) *Config {