diff --git a/.gitea/scripts/main-red-watchdog.py b/.gitea/scripts/main-red-watchdog.py
index 85e4de36..a8467456 100755
--- a/.gitea/scripts/main-red-watchdog.py
+++ b/.gitea/scripts/main-red-watchdog.py
@@ -222,9 +222,20 @@ def is_red(status: dict) -> tuple[bool, list[dict]]:
     combined = status.get("state")
     statuses = status.get("statuses") or []
     red_states = {"failure", "error"}
+    # Schema asymmetry: top-level combined uses `state`, but per-entry
+    # items in `statuses[]` use `status` in Gitea 1.22.6. Prefer
+    # `status`; fall back to `state` defensively. Verified empirically
+    # 2026-05-12 03:42Z. Pre-rev4 code only read `state` from per-entry
+    # items → failed[] always empty → render_body always showed the
+    # "no per-context entries were in a red state" fallback even when
+    # the combined-state correctly flagged red. See
+    # `feedback_smoke_test_vendor_truth_not_shape_match`.
+    def _entry_state(s: dict) -> str:
+        return s.get("status") or s.get("state") or ""
+
     failed = [
         s for s in statuses
-        if isinstance(s, dict) and s.get("state") in red_states
+        if isinstance(s, dict) and _entry_state(s) in red_states
     ]
     return (combined in red_states or bool(failed), failed)
 
@@ -313,7 +324,9 @@ def render_body(sha: str, failed: list[dict], debug: dict) -> str:
     else:
         for s in failed:
             ctx = s.get("context", "(no context)")
-            state = s.get("state", "(no state)")
+            # Per-entry key is `status` in Gitea 1.22.6, not `state`
+            # (see _entry_state in is_red). Fallback for forward-compat.
+            state = s.get("status") or s.get("state") or "(no state)"
             url = s.get("target_url") or ""
             desc = (s.get("description") or "").strip()
             entry = f"- **{ctx}** — `{state}`"
@@ -546,7 +559,11 @@ def run_once(*, dry_run: bool = False) -> int:
         "combined_state": status.get("state"),
         "failed_contexts": [s.get("context") for s in failed],
         "all_contexts": [
-            {"context": s.get("context"), "state": s.get("state")}
+            # Per-entry key is `status` in Gitea 1.22.6, not `state`.
+            # Pre-rev4 debug output reported `state: None` for every
+            # context, making run logs useless for triage.
+            {"context": s.get("context"),
+             "state": s.get("status") or s.get("state")}
             for s in (status.get("statuses") or [])
             if isinstance(s, dict)
         ],
diff --git a/.gitea/scripts/status-reaper.py b/.gitea/scripts/status-reaper.py
index 5e1f895f..9833e7b4 100644
--- a/.gitea/scripts/status-reaper.py
+++ b/.gitea/scripts/status-reaper.py
@@ -452,7 +452,18 @@ def reap(
         if not isinstance(s, dict):
             continue
         context = s.get("context") or ""
-        state = s.get("state") or ""
+        # Schema asymmetry: Gitea 1.22.6 returns the TOP-LEVEL combined
+        # aggregate as `combined.state` but each per-context entry in
+        # `combined.statuses[]` uses the key `status`, NOT `state`.
+        # Prefer `status`; fall back to `state` so a future Gitea
+        # version (or a test fixture written against the wrong key)
+        # still flows through the compensation path. Verified empirically
+        # via direct API probe 2026-05-12 03:42Z:
+        #   /repos/.../commits/{sha}/status entries → key is "status".
+        # Pre-rev4 code read "state" only → returned "" → bypassed the
+        # `state != "failure"` guard → compensation path unreachable.
+        # See `feedback_smoke_test_vendor_truth_not_shape_match`.
+        state = s.get("status") or s.get("state") or ""
 
         # Only `failure` is the bug shape. `error`/`pending`/`success`
         # left alone — they have other meanings.
diff --git a/tests/test_main_red_watchdog.py b/tests/test_main_red_watchdog.py
index 1b14fe27..ab3f4bb9 100644
--- a/tests/test_main_red_watchdog.py
+++ b/tests/test_main_red_watchdog.py
@@ -189,6 +189,78 @@ def test_is_red_no_statuses(wd_module):
     assert failed == []
 
 
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Per-entry vendor-truth key (rev4) — see status-reaper rev4 sibling
+#
+# Gitea 1.22.6 returns per-entry items in combined.statuses[] with key
+# `status`, not `state`. Pre-rev4 code only read `state` → failed[]
+# was always empty → render_body always emitted the fallback "no
+# per-context entries were in a red state". These tests use the
+# canonical Gitea shape to lock the fix in.
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+def test_is_red_vendor_truth_status_key_under_pending(wd_module):
+    """Real Gitea 1.22.6 shape: per-entry uses `status`. A single failed
+    context counts as red even when combined is `pending`. Pre-rev4
+    this returned `(False, [])` because `s.get("state")` was None."""
+    red, failed = wd_module.is_red({
+        "state": "pending",
+        "statuses": [
+            {"context": "ci/lint", "status": "success"},
+            {"context": "ci/test", "status": "failure"},
+            {"context": "ci/build", "status": "pending"},
+        ],
+    })
+    assert red is True
+    assert [s["context"] for s in failed] == ["ci/test"]
+
+
+def test_is_red_status_takes_precedence_over_state(wd_module):
+    """If both keys present (defensive), `status` (vendor truth) wins."""
+    red, failed = wd_module.is_red({
+        "state": "pending",
+        "statuses": [
+            # `status=failure` is truth even though `state=success` is
+            # stale. Locking in the precedence prevents a hypothetical
+            # future Gitea release that emits both from re-introducing
+            # the bug under a different shape.
+            {"context": "ci/test", "status": "failure", "state": "success"},
+        ],
+    })
+    assert red is True
+    assert len(failed) == 1
+
+
+def test_is_red_state_only_fallback_still_works(wd_module):
+    """Backward-compat: a legacy fixture or future Gitea variant that
+    only emits `state` still trips the red detection via the fallback
+    chain. Keeps pre-rev4 fixtures green during the rev4 rollout."""
+    red, failed = wd_module.is_red({
+        "state": "pending",
+        "statuses": [
+            {"context": "ci/test", "state": "failure"},  # legacy shape
+        ],
+    })
+    assert red is True
+    assert len(failed) == 1
+
+
+def test_render_body_uses_status_key_for_per_entry_state(wd_module):
+    """render_body must surface the per-entry `status` value in the
+    issue body. Pre-rev4 it read `state` (always None on real Gitea) →
+    every issue body said `(no state)`, defeating the diagnostic."""
+    failed = [
+        {"context": "ci/test", "status": "failure",
+         "target_url": "https://example.test/run/1",
+         "description": "broke"},
+    ]
+    body = wd_module.render_body("deadbeefcafe1234", failed, {})
+    assert "`failure`" in body, (
+        "render_body did not surface per-entry status — likely still "
+        "reading `state` key only (rev1-3 bug)."
+    )
+    assert "(no state)" not in body
+
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Happy path — main is green, no issue created
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/tests/test_status_reaper.py b/tests/test_status_reaper.py
index fda532c7..81327487 100644
--- a/tests/test_status_reaper.py
+++ b/tests/test_status_reaper.py
@@ -544,6 +544,156 @@ def test_reap_unparseable_push_context_preserved(sr_module, monkeypatch):
     assert counters["preserved_unparseable"] == 1
 
 
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Per-context status-key vendor-truth (rev4)
+#
+# Gitea 1.22.6 returns commit-status entries with key `status` per entry,
+# NOT `state`. The TOP-LEVEL combined aggregate uses `state`. This schema
+# asymmetry caused rev1-3 to take the compensation path 0 times despite
+# triggering on real failures: `s.get("state")` returned None → state
+# evaluated to "" → `"" != "failure"` guard preserved every entry.
+#
+# These tests explicitly use the vendor-truth shape (`status` per entry),
+# proving the rev4 fix routes the failure entry through compensation.
+# Fixtures in rev1-3 tests above use `state` (the pre-fix bug shape) —
+# we keep them for backward-compat coverage via the fallback in
+# `s.get("status") or s.get("state")`, but the canonical Gitea shape
+# uses `status`. Logged under
+# `feedback_smoke_test_vendor_truth_not_shape_match`.
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+def test_reap_per_context_uses_status_key_not_state(sr_module, monkeypatch):
+    """Empirical Gitea 1.22.6 shape: per-entry uses `status`, top-level
+    uses `state`. The rev4 fix MUST detect failure via `status`."""
+    calls = []
+
+    def fake_api(method, path, *, body=None, query=None, expect_json=True):
+        calls.append((method, path, body))
+        return (201, {})
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sr_module, "api", fake_api)
+
+    workflow_map = {"staging-smoke": False}  # no push trigger → Class-O
+    # Real Gitea-shaped response: top-level `state`, per-entry `status`.
+    # No `state` key on the per-entry item.
+    combined = {
+        "state": "failure",
+        "statuses": [
+            {
+                "context": "staging-smoke / smoke (push)",
+                "status": "failure",  # ← vendor-truth key
+                "target_url": "https://example.test/run/1",
+                "description": "smoke job failed",
+            }
+        ],
+    }
+    counters = sr_module.reap(workflow_map, combined, SHA, dry_run=False)
+    # The bug-class assertion: pre-rev4 this would have been 0, with
+    # preserved_non_failure=1. Rev4 reads `status` → routes to compensate.
+    assert counters["compensated"] == 1, (
+        "Compensation path unreachable: status-reaper still reads `state` "
+        "instead of `status` on per-entry combined.statuses[] items "
+        "(rev1-3 bug)."
+    )
+    assert counters["preserved_non_failure"] == 0
+    assert len(calls) == 1
+    assert calls[0][0] == "POST"
+    assert calls[0][1] == f"/repos/owner/repo/statuses/{SHA}"
+
+
+def test_reap_per_context_status_key_takes_precedence_over_state(
+    sr_module, monkeypatch
+):
+    """Defensive: if both `status` and `state` are present (e.g. a
+    hypothetical Gitea version emits both), `status` (the canonical
+    Gitea 1.22.6 key) wins. Guards against a future regression where
+    a fixture or future Gitea release emits stale `state="success"`
+    while `status="failure"` is the truth."""
+    calls = []
+
+    def fake_api(method, path, *, body=None, query=None, expect_json=True):
+        calls.append((method, path, body))
+        return (201, {})
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sr_module, "api", fake_api)
+
+    workflow_map = {"staging-smoke": False}
+    combined = {
+        "state": "failure",
+        "statuses": [
+            {
+                "context": "staging-smoke / smoke (push)",
+                # Both keys present — vendor-truth `status` MUST win.
+                "status": "failure",
+                "state": "success",
+                "target_url": "https://example.test/run/2",
+                "description": "smoke job failed",
+            }
+        ],
+    }
+    counters = sr_module.reap(workflow_map, combined, SHA, dry_run=False)
+    assert counters["compensated"] == 1
+    assert counters["preserved_non_failure"] == 0
+    assert len(calls) == 1
+
+
+def test_reap_per_context_state_only_fallback(sr_module, monkeypatch):
+    """Backward-compat: a test fixture or older Gitea variant that emits
+    only `state` (no `status`) must still flow through compensation.
+    Belt-and-suspenders against future fixture drift. Keeps rev1-3
+    `state`-using fixtures green."""
+    calls = []
+
+    def fake_api(method, path, *, body=None, query=None, expect_json=True):
+        calls.append((method, path, body))
+        return (201, {})
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sr_module, "api", fake_api)
+
+    workflow_map = {"staging-smoke": False}
+    combined = {
+        "state": "failure",
+        "statuses": [
+            {
+                "context": "staging-smoke / smoke (push)",
+                "state": "failure",  # legacy fixture shape only
+                "target_url": "https://example.test/run/3",
+            }
+        ],
+    }
+    counters = sr_module.reap(workflow_map, combined, SHA, dry_run=False)
+    assert counters["compensated"] == 1
+    assert len(calls) == 1
+
+
+def test_reap_per_context_missing_both_keys_preserves(sr_module, monkeypatch):
+    """A per-entry item lacking BOTH `status` and `state` must be
+    preserved (counted under preserved_non_failure). This is the only
+    correctly-behaving leg of the pre-rev4 bug — exercising it ensures
+    the fallback chain doesn't accidentally over-compensate on
+    malformed entries."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        sr_module, "api",
+        lambda *a, **kw: (_ for _ in ()).throw(
+            AssertionError("api should not be called")
+        ),
+    )
+
+    workflow_map = {"staging-smoke": False}
+    combined = {
+        "state": "failure",
+        "statuses": [
+            {
+                "context": "staging-smoke / smoke (push)",
+                # No status, no state — neither key present.
+                "target_url": "https://example.test/run/4",
+            }
+        ],
+    }
+    counters = sr_module.reap(workflow_map, combined, SHA, dry_run=False)
+    assert counters["compensated"] == 0
+    assert counters["preserved_non_failure"] == 1
+
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # ApiError propagation
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------