diff --git a/changelog.d/3082-cli-seed-generate.fixed.md b/changelog.d/3082-cli-seed-generate.fixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2f58ec3f60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/3082-cli-seed-generate.fixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- `wheels seed --generate` now actually creates rows and reports honest success/failure. The CLI seed bridge's generate loop iterated `$classData().properties` (a struct keyed by property name) as if it were an array of property structs — so `prop.name` threw `there is no property with name [NAME] found in [string]`, every model errored, zero rows were created, yet the run still returned `success=true` and the CLI printed "Seeding completed." with exit 0. The generate path is now a dedicated, unit-tested `wheels.Seeder.generateSeeds(models, count)` method that iterates the property struct correctly and forces overall `success=false` when any model fails or no rows are created, so the CLI surfaces a non-zero exit instead of silently lying (the #2987 honesty fix had only covered convention mode) (#3082)
diff --git a/vendor/wheels/Seeder.cfc b/vendor/wheels/Seeder.cfc
index 90deff7f66..afbc1d4ccc 100644
--- a/vendor/wheels/Seeder.cfc
+++ b/vendor/wheels/Seeder.cfc
@@ -227,6 +227,251 @@ component output="false" extends="wheels.Global" {
 		return local.result;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Generate fake records for one or more models — the legacy
+	 * `wheels seed --generate` path. Unlike convention seeding this does not
+	 * use seed files; it introspects each model's persisted properties and
+	 * inserts `count` rows of plausible test data per model.
+	 *
+	 * Honesty contract (issue #3082): a model that throws, or whose generated
+	 * rows do not all save, is recorded as a failed entry AND forces overall
+	 * success=false. The previous CLI-view implementation iterated the
+	 * $classData().properties STRUCT as if it were an array of property structs
+	 * — so `prop.name` threw "there is no property with name [NAME] found in
+	 * [string]" — created zero rows, yet still returned success=true and the
+	 * CLI printed "Seeding completed." with exit 0.
+	 *
+	 * @models Comma-delimited list of model names. When blank, every *.cfc under
+	 *         /app/models (excluding _-prefixed files and the framework's
+	 *         parent Model.cfc base class) is used.
+	 * @count  Number of rows to generate per model.
+	 */
+	public struct function generateSeeds(string models = "", numeric count = 10) {
+		var result = {
+			success = false,
+			mode = "generate",
+			seeded = [],
+			totalCreated = 0,
+			// Generate mode never skips rows, but the CLI bridge contract
+			// requires the key: Module.cfc::runSeed() prints
+			// `#result.totalSkipped# skipped` whenever totalCreated exists.
+			totalSkipped = 0,
+			totalFailed = 0,
+			message = ""
+		};
+
+		var modelList = $resolveGenerateModels(arguments.models);
+
+		if (!ArrayLen(modelList)) {
+			result.message = "No models found to generate seed data for. Pass models=... or add models under /app/models.";
+			return result;
+		}
+
+		for (var modelName in modelList) {
+			try {
+				var modelInstance = model(modelName);
+				// $classData().properties is a STRUCT keyed by property name —
+				// each value is the property's metadata struct. Iterate the keys.
+				var properties = modelInstance.$classData().properties;
+				var seededCount = 0;
+
+				for (var i = 1; i <= arguments.count; i++) {
+					var record = {};
+					for (var propName in properties) {
+						if (propName != "id" && !ListFindNoCase("createdAt,updatedAt,deletedAt", propName)) {
+							var propType = StructKeyExists(properties[propName], "type") ? properties[propName].type : "string";
+							record[propName] = $generateTestData(propName, propType, i);
+						}
+					}
+					var newRecord = modelInstance.new(record);
+					if (newRecord.save()) {
+						seededCount++;
+					}
+				}
+
+				var entrySuccess = (seededCount == arguments.count);
+				ArrayAppend(result.seeded, {
+					model = modelName,
+					count = seededCount,
+					success = entrySuccess
+				});
+				result.totalCreated += seededCount;
+				if (!entrySuccess) {
+					result.totalFailed++;
+				}
+			} catch (any modelError) {
+				ArrayAppend(result.seeded, {
+					model = modelName,
+					count = 0,
+					success = false,
+					error = modelError.message
+				});
+				result.totalFailed++;
+			}
+		}
+
+		result.success = (result.totalFailed == 0 && result.totalCreated > 0);
+		if (result.success) {
+			result.message = "Database seeding completed. Created #result.totalCreated# records across #ArrayLen(result.seeded)# #ArrayLen(result.seeded) == 1 ? 'model' : 'models'#.";
+		} else {
+			result.message = "Database seeding failed. Created #result.totalCreated# records; #result.totalFailed# of #ArrayLen(result.seeded)# #result.totalFailed == 1 ? 'model' : 'models'# failed (#$failedGenerateSummary(result.seeded)#).";
+		}
+		return result;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Internal function. Resolves the model list for generateSeeds(): an
+	 * explicit comma-delimited list when provided (blank entries trimmed away),
+	 * otherwise every *.cfc model file under /app/models except _-prefixed
+	 * files and the framework's parent Model.cfc base class.
+	 */
+	public array function $resolveGenerateModels(string models = "") {
+		var list = [];
+		if (Len(Trim(arguments.models))) {
+			for (var name in ListToArray(arguments.models)) {
+				if (Len(Trim(name))) {
+					ArrayAppend(list, Trim(name));
+				}
+			}
+			return list;
+		}
+		var modelPath = ExpandPath("/app/models");
+		if (DirectoryExists(modelPath)) {
+			var modelFiles = DirectoryList(modelPath, false, "name", "*.cfc");
+			for (var file in modelFiles) {
+				// Skip the framework's parent Model.cfc — every scaffolded app
+				// ships it as the base class for its models, it has no backing
+				// table, and model("Model") throws Wheels.TableNotFound. Same
+				// exclusion as the CLI's model enumeration (Analysis.cfc and
+				// Module.cfc both skip it).
+				if (Left(file, 1) != "_" && file != "Model.cfc") {
+					ArrayAppend(list, ListFirst(file, "."));
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		return list;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Internal function. Builds a "model: reason" list for every failed entry
+	 * recorded by generateSeeds(), used in its failure message.
+	 */
+	public string function $failedGenerateSummary(required array seeded) {
+		var parts = [];
+		for (var entry in arguments.seeded) {
+			if (!entry.success) {
+				var reason = StructKeyExists(entry, "error") ? entry.error : "only #entry.count# of the requested rows saved";
+				ArrayAppend(parts, "#entry.model#: #reason#");
+			}
+		}
+		return ArrayToList(parts, "; ");
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Internal function. Produces a plausible fake value for a property based on
+	 * its name and type — used by generateSeeds().
+	 */
+	public any function $generateTestData(required string propertyName, string propertyType = "string", numeric index = 1) {
+		local.name = LCase(arguments.propertyName);
+
+		// Email fields
+		if (FindNoCase("email", local.name)) {
+			return "test#arguments.index#@example.com";
+		}
+
+		// Name fields
+		if (FindNoCase("firstname", local.name) || local.name == "fname") {
+			local.firstNames = ["John", "Jane", "Bob", "Alice", "Charlie", "Diana", "Edward", "Fiona", "George", "Helen"];
+			return local.firstNames[(arguments.index - 1) mod ArrayLen(local.firstNames) + 1];
+		}
+
+		if (FindNoCase("lastname", local.name) || local.name == "lname") {
+			local.lastNames = ["Smith", "Johnson", "Williams", "Brown", "Jones", "Garcia", "Miller", "Davis", "Rodriguez", "Martinez"];
+			return local.lastNames[(arguments.index - 1) mod ArrayLen(local.lastNames) + 1];
+		}
+
+		if (local.name == "name" || FindNoCase("username", local.name)) {
+			return "TestUser#arguments.index#";
+		}
+
+		// Phone fields
+		if (FindNoCase("phone", local.name) || FindNoCase("mobile", local.name)) {
+			return "555-#NumberFormat(1000 + arguments.index, '0000')#";
+		}
+
+		// Address fields
+		if (FindNoCase("address", local.name) || FindNoCase("street", local.name)) {
+			return "#arguments.index# Test Street";
+		}
+
+		if (FindNoCase("city", local.name)) {
+			local.cities = ["New York", "Los Angeles", "Chicago", "Houston", "Phoenix", "Philadelphia", "San Antonio", "San Diego"];
+			return local.cities[(arguments.index - 1) mod ArrayLen(local.cities) + 1];
+		}
+
+		if (FindNoCase("state", local.name) || FindNoCase("province", local.name)) {
+			local.states = ["CA", "TX", "FL", "NY", "PA", "IL", "OH", "GA"];
+			return local.states[(arguments.index - 1) mod ArrayLen(local.states) + 1];
+		}
+
+		if (FindNoCase("zip", local.name) || FindNoCase("postal", local.name)) {
+			return NumberFormat(10000 + arguments.index, "00000");
+		}
+
+		// URL fields
+		if (FindNoCase("url", local.name) || FindNoCase("website", local.name)) {
+			return "https://example#arguments.index#.com";
+		}
+
+		// Password fields
+		if (FindNoCase("password", local.name)) {
+			return "TestPass#arguments.index#!";
+		}
+
+		// Boolean fields
+		if (arguments.propertyType == "boolean" || FindNoCase("active", local.name) || FindNoCase("enabled", local.name) || FindNoCase("published", local.name)) {
+			return (arguments.index mod 2) == 1;
+		}
+
+		// Numeric fields
+		if (arguments.propertyType == "integer" || arguments.propertyType == "numeric") {
+			if (FindNoCase("age", local.name)) {
+				return 20 + (arguments.index mod 50);
+			}
+			if (FindNoCase("price", local.name) || FindNoCase("cost", local.name) || FindNoCase("amount", local.name)) {
+				return (arguments.index * 10) + 0.99;
+			}
+			if (FindNoCase("quantity", local.name) || FindNoCase("count", local.name)) {
+				return arguments.index * 5;
+			}
+			return arguments.index;
+		}
+
+		// Date fields
+		if (arguments.propertyType == "date" || arguments.propertyType == "datetime" || FindNoCase("date", local.name) || FindNoCase("birthday", local.name) || FindNoCase("dob", local.name)) {
+			return DateAdd("d", -arguments.index, Now());
+		}
+
+		// Text/description fields
+		if (arguments.propertyType == "text" || FindNoCase("description", local.name) || FindNoCase("content", local.name) || FindNoCase("body", local.name)) {
+			return "This is test content #arguments.index#. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.";
+		}
+
+		// Title fields
+		if (FindNoCase("title", local.name) || FindNoCase("subject", local.name)) {
+			return "Test Title #arguments.index#";
+		}
+
+		// Status fields
+		if (FindNoCase("status", local.name)) {
+			local.statuses = ["pending", "active", "completed", "cancelled"];
+			return local.statuses[(arguments.index - 1) mod ArrayLen(local.statuses) + 1];
+		}
+
+		// Default string value
+		return "#arguments.propertyName# Test #arguments.index#";
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Internal function. Builds a "model: first error message" list for every
 	 * failed entry recorded in this run, used in the runSeeds() failure message.
diff --git a/vendor/wheels/public/views/cli.cfm b/vendor/wheels/public/views/cli.cfm
index e53fb41ea9..2b063c909e 100644
--- a/vendor/wheels/public/views/cli.cfm
+++ b/vendor/wheels/public/views/cli.cfm
@@ -473,9 +473,10 @@ try {
 
 			case "dbSeed":
 				// The seed orchestration lives in the page-level
-				// runDbSeed() UDF (defined alongside generateTestData
-				// below). Extracted so `dbSetup` can compose seeding
-				// without re-entering the dispatcher (issue ##2959).
+				// runDbSeed() UDF below. Generate mode delegates to
+				// wheels.Seeder.generateSeeds(). Extracted so `dbSetup`
+				// can compose seeding without re-entering the dispatcher
+				// (issue ##2959).
 				local.seedResult = runDbSeed(request.wheels.params);
 				StructAppend(data, local.seedResult, true);
 				break;
@@ -907,68 +908,19 @@ function runDbSeed(struct seedParams = {}) {
 				result.detail = conventionResult.detail;
 			}
 		} else {
-			result.mode = "generate";
+			// Generate mode delegates to Seeder.generateSeeds(), which fixes
+			// both #3082 defects: it iterates $classData().properties as the
+			// STRUCT it is (the old inline loop treated it as an array of
+			// property structs and threw on every model), and it reports
+			// overall success=false when any model fails — so the CLI surfaces
+			// a non-zero exit instead of printing "Seeding completed." (#3082).
 			var count = structKeyExists(sp, "count") ? val(sp.count) : 10;
 			var modelsArg = structKeyExists(sp, "models") ? sp.models : "";
-			result.seeded = [];
-
-			var modelList = [];
-			if (len(modelsArg)) {
-				modelList = listToArray(modelsArg);
-			} else {
-				var modelPath = expandPath("/app/models");
-				if (directoryExists(modelPath)) {
-					var modelFiles = directoryList(modelPath, false, "name", "*.cfc");
-					for (var file in modelFiles) {
-						if (left(file, 1) != "_") {
-							arrayAppend(modelList, listFirst(file, "."));
-						}
-					}
-				}
-			}
-
-			for (var modelName in modelList) {
-				try {
-					var modelInstance = model(modelName);
-					var seededCount = 0;
-					var properties = [];
-					if (structKeyExists(modelInstance, "$classData") && structKeyExists(modelInstance.$classData(), "properties")) {
-						properties = modelInstance.$classData().properties;
-					}
-					for (var i = 1; i <= count; i++) {
-						var record = {};
-						for (var prop in properties) {
-							if (prop.name != "id" && !listFindNoCase("createdAt,updatedAt,deletedAt", prop.name)) {
-								record[prop.name] = generateTestData(prop.name, prop.type, i);
-							}
-						}
-						var newRecord = modelInstance.new(record);
-						if (newRecord.save()) {
-							seededCount++;
-						}
-					}
-					arrayAppend(result.seeded, {
-						model = modelName,
-						count = seededCount,
-						success = true
-					});
-				} catch (any modelError) {
-					arrayAppend(result.seeded, {
-						model = modelName,
-						count = 0,
-						success = false,
-						error = modelError.message
-					});
-				}
-			}
-
-			var totalSeeded = 0;
-			for (var seedEntry in result.seeded) {
-				if (seedEntry.success) {
-					totalSeeded += seedEntry.count;
-				}
-			}
-			result.message = "Database seeding completed. Created #totalSeeded# records across #arrayLen(result.seeded)# models.";
+			var generateSeeder = structKeyExists(application.wheels, "seeder")
+				? application.wheels.seeder
+				: CreateObject("component", "wheels.Seeder").init();
+			var generateResult = generateSeeder.generateSeeds(models = modelsArg, count = count);
+			StructAppend(result, generateResult, true);
 		}
 	} catch (any e) {
 		result.success = false;
@@ -978,108 +930,6 @@ function runDbSeed(struct seedParams = {}) {
 	return result;
 }
 
-// Helper function to generate test data based on property name and type
-function generateTestData(required string propertyName, string propertyType = "string", numeric index = 1) {
-	// Common patterns for property names
-	local.name = lCase(arguments.propertyName);
-	
-	// Email fields
-	if (findNoCase("email", local.name)) {
-		return "test#arguments.index#@example.com";
-	}
-	
-	// Name fields
-	if (findNoCase("firstname", local.name) || local.name == "fname") {
-		local.firstNames = ["John", "Jane", "Bob", "Alice", "Charlie", "Diana", "Edward", "Fiona", "George", "Helen"];
-		return local.firstNames[(arguments.index - 1) mod arrayLen(local.firstNames) + 1];
-	}
-	
-	if (findNoCase("lastname", local.name) || local.name == "lname") {
-		local.lastNames = ["Smith", "Johnson", "Williams", "Brown", "Jones", "Garcia", "Miller", "Davis", "Rodriguez", "Martinez"];
-		return local.lastNames[(arguments.index - 1) mod arrayLen(local.lastNames) + 1];
-	}
-	
-	if (local.name == "name" || findNoCase("username", local.name)) {
-		return "TestUser#arguments.index#";
-	}
-	
-	// Phone fields
-	if (findNoCase("phone", local.name) || findNoCase("mobile", local.name)) {
-		return "555-#numberFormat(1000 + arguments.index, '0000')#";
-	}
-	
-	// Address fields
-	if (findNoCase("address", local.name) || findNoCase("street", local.name)) {
-		return "#arguments.index# Test Street";
-	}
-	
-	if (findNoCase("city", local.name)) {
-		local.cities = ["New York", "Los Angeles", "Chicago", "Houston", "Phoenix", "Philadelphia", "San Antonio", "San Diego"];
-		return local.cities[(arguments.index - 1) mod arrayLen(local.cities) + 1];
-	}
-	
-	if (findNoCase("state", local.name) || findNoCase("province", local.name)) {
-		local.states = ["CA", "TX", "FL", "NY", "PA", "IL", "OH", "GA"];
-		return local.states[(arguments.index - 1) mod arrayLen(local.states) + 1];
-	}
-	
-	if (findNoCase("zip", local.name) || findNoCase("postal", local.name)) {
-		return numberFormat(10000 + arguments.index, "00000");
-	}
-	
-	// URL fields
-	if (findNoCase("url", local.name) || findNoCase("website", local.name)) {
-		return "https://example#arguments.index#.com";
-	}
-	
-	// Password fields
-	if (findNoCase("password", local.name)) {
-		return "TestPass#arguments.index#!";
-	}
-	
-	// Boolean fields
-	if (arguments.propertyType == "boolean" || findNoCase("active", local.name) || findNoCase("enabled", local.name) || findNoCase("published", local.name)) {
-		return (arguments.index mod 2) == 1;
-	}
-	
-	// Numeric fields
-	if (arguments.propertyType == "integer" || arguments.propertyType == "numeric") {
-		if (findNoCase("age", local.name)) {
-			return 20 + (arguments.index mod 50);
-		}
-		if (findNoCase("price", local.name) || findNoCase("cost", local.name) || findNoCase("amount", local.name)) {
-			return (arguments.index * 10) + 0.99;
-		}
-		if (findNoCase("quantity", local.name) || findNoCase("count", local.name)) {
-			return arguments.index * 5;
-		}
-		return arguments.index;
-	}
-	
-	// Date fields
-	if (arguments.propertyType == "date" || arguments.propertyType == "datetime" || findNoCase("date", local.name) || findNoCase("birthday", local.name) || findNoCase("dob", local.name)) {
-		return dateAdd("d", -arguments.index, now());
-	}
-	
-	// Text/description fields
-	if (arguments.propertyType == "text" || findNoCase("description", local.name) || findNoCase("content", local.name) || findNoCase("body", local.name)) {
-		return "This is test content #arguments.index#. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.";
-	}
-	
-	// Title fields
-	if (findNoCase("title", local.name) || findNoCase("subject", local.name)) {
-		return "Test Title #arguments.index#";
-	}
-	
-	// Status fields
-	if (findNoCase("status", local.name)) {
-		local.statuses = ["pending", "active", "completed", "cancelled"];
-		return local.statuses[(arguments.index - 1) mod arrayLen(local.statuses) + 1];
-	}
-	
-	// Default string value
-	return "#arguments.propertyName# Test #arguments.index#";
-}
 </cfscript>
 <cfcontent reset="true" type="application/json"><cfoutput>#SerializeJSON(data)#</cfoutput>
 <cfabort>
diff --git a/vendor/wheels/tests/specs/seederSpec.cfc b/vendor/wheels/tests/specs/seederSpec.cfc
index 06898100a7..405e8b4220 100644
--- a/vendor/wheels/tests/specs/seederSpec.cfc
+++ b/vendor/wheels/tests/specs/seederSpec.cfc
@@ -220,6 +220,99 @@ component extends="wheels.WheelsTest" {
 
 			});
 
+			describe("generateSeeds()", () => {
+
+				it("creates fake records for the requested model and reports honest success", () => {
+					// Capture existing Author ids so cleanup only removes our rows.
+					local.beforeIds = ValueList(model("Author").findAll(select = "id").id);
+
+					local.gen = CreateObject("component", "wheels.Seeder").init();
+					local.result = local.gen.generateSeeds(models = "Author", count = 2);
+
+					expect(local.result.success).toBeTrue();
+					expect(local.result.mode).toBe("generate");
+					expect(local.result.totalCreated).toBe(2);
+					// CLI bridge contract: Module.cfc::runSeed() prints
+					// `#result.totalSkipped# skipped` whenever totalCreated exists,
+					// so generate results MUST carry the key (always 0 — generate
+					// mode never skips) or a successful run throws in the CLI.
+					expect(StructKeyExists(local.result, "totalSkipped")).toBeTrue();
+					expect(local.result.totalSkipped).toBe(0);
+					expect(local.result.totalFailed).toBe(0);
+					expect(ArrayLen(local.result.seeded)).toBe(1);
+					expect(local.result.seeded[1].model).toBe("Author");
+					expect(local.result.seeded[1].count).toBe(2);
+					expect(local.result.seeded[1].success).toBeTrue();
+
+					// The rows must really exist — the old generate loop iterated the
+					// $classData().properties STRUCT as if it were an array of property
+					// structs, threw on every model, and created zero rows while still
+					// reporting success (issue #3082).
+					local.afterIds = ValueList(model("Author").findAll(select = "id").id);
+					expect(ListLen(local.afterIds) - ListLen(local.beforeIds)).toBe(2);
+
+					// Clean up only the rows we generated.
+					if (Len(local.beforeIds)) {
+						model("Author").deleteAll(where = "id NOT IN (#local.beforeIds#)", instantiate = false);
+					} else {
+						model("Author").deleteAll(instantiate = false);
+					}
+				});
+
+				it("reports overall failure when a model cannot be seeded", () => {
+					local.gen = CreateObject("component", "wheels.Seeder").init();
+					local.result = local.gen.generateSeeds(
+						models = "NoSuchModel_#Replace(CreateUUID(), '-', '', 'all')#",
+						count = 2
+					);
+
+					// Honesty contract: a model that errors must not be reported as
+					// success. Generate mode previously appended success=false entries
+					// while leaving the overall result success=true and the CLI printing
+					// "Seeding completed." with exit 0 (issue #3082).
+					expect(local.result.success).toBeFalse();
+					expect(local.result.totalCreated).toBe(0);
+					expect(local.result.totalFailed).toBe(1);
+					expect(ArrayLen(local.result.seeded)).toBe(1);
+					expect(local.result.seeded[1].success).toBeFalse();
+					expect(StructKeyExists(local.result.seeded[1], "error")).toBeTrue();
+				});
+
+				it("reports failure (not silent success) when an explicit list resolves to no models", () => {
+					local.gen = CreateObject("component", "wheels.Seeder").init();
+					// A delimiter-only list is a non-blank value (so it does NOT fall
+					// back to auto-scanning /app/models) that still resolves to zero
+					// usable model names — the run must report failure, not success.
+					local.result = local.gen.generateSeeds(models = ",", count = 2);
+					expect(local.result.success).toBeFalse();
+					expect(local.result.totalCreated).toBe(0);
+					expect(local.result.message).toInclude("No models");
+				});
+
+				it("auto-scan excludes the framework's parent Model.cfc base class", () => {
+					// Every scaffolded app ships app/models/Model.cfc as the base
+					// class for its models. It has no backing table, so including
+					// it in the auto-scan makes model('Model') throw
+					// Wheels.TableNotFound and — under the honesty rule — forces
+					// every blank-models `wheels seed --generate` run to fail on a
+					// conventional app. Mirrors the CLI's own enumeration, which
+					// skips Model.cfc (Analysis.cfc / Module.cfc).
+					local.gen = CreateObject("component", "wheels.Seeder").init();
+					local.resolved = local.gen.$resolveGenerateModels("");
+					expect(ArrayFindNoCase(local.resolved, "Model")).toBe(0);
+				});
+
+				it("keeps explicitly requested model names verbatim", () => {
+					// The Model.cfc exclusion applies only to the auto-scan; an
+					// explicit list is the caller's responsibility and passes
+					// through untouched.
+					local.gen = CreateObject("component", "wheels.Seeder").init();
+					local.resolved = local.gen.$resolveGenerateModels(" Author , User ");
+					expect(local.resolved).toBe(["Author", "User"]);
+				});
+
+			});
+
 		});
 
 	}