diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 9d0af1d9..4cdcc5d0 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ fi
 echo "==> clawdie-iso build"
 echo "    ISO     : ${ISO_VERSION}-${BUILD_CHANNEL} (zot ${ZOT_RESOLVED_VERSION})"
 echo "    FreeBSD : ${FREEBSD_VERSION} ${FREEBSD_ARCH}"
-echo "    Clawdie : CLI phased out — Colibri is the control plane"
+echo "    Clawdie : product — Colibri is the control plane"
 echo "    Desktop : ${DEFAULT_DESKTOP}"
 echo "    Pkg     : ${DEFAULT_PKG_BRANCH}"
 echo "    GPU     : ${GPU_DRIVER:-auto-detect}"
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ resolve_colibri_paths() {
     fi
 }
 
-# clawdie-ai retired — Colibri is the control plane.
+# The Node.js clawdie-ai codebase was superseded by Colibri (Rust) as the control plane.
 
 preflight_colibri_artifacts() {
     [ "${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO}" = "YES" ] || return 0
@@ -485,9 +485,11 @@ write_build_manifest() {
             _iso_repo_modified="true"
         fi
     fi
-    # Clawdie-AI provenance: the image stages a git checkout of the AI source,
-    # so record whether the tree is modified at build time.
-    _clawdie_ai_modified="(retired)"
+    # Clawdie-AI provenance: the Node.js clawdie-ai codebase was superseded by
+    # Colibri (Rust) as the control plane (PR #146). Clawdie is the product;
+    # Colibri drives it. No clawdie-ai checkout is staged, so there is nothing
+    # to track here — emit null for manifest compatibility.
+    _clawdie_ai_modified=""
     if [ -n "${LIVE_SSH_PUBKEY_FP:-}" ]; then
         _live_ssh_pubkey_fp_json="\"$(json_escape "${LIVE_SSH_PUBKEY_FP}")\""
     fi
@@ -540,8 +542,8 @@ write_build_manifest() {
   "build_channel": "$(json_escape "${BUILD_CHANNEL}")",
   "freebsd_version": "$(json_escape "${FREEBSD_VERSION}")",
   "freebsd_arch": "$(json_escape "${FREEBSD_ARCH}")",
-  "clawdie_ai_ref": "(retired)",
-  "clawdie_ai_commit": "(retired)",
+  "clawdie_ai_ref": "superseded",
+  "clawdie_ai_commit": "superseded",
   "clawdie_ai_modified": ${_clawdie_ai_modified:-null},
   "pi_version": "$(json_escape "${_pi_version:-unknown}")",
   "live_ssh_pubkey_fp": ${_live_ssh_pubkey_fp_json},
@@ -1270,9 +1272,9 @@ directories, or uncommitted worktree changes are included. Each checkout keeps a
 .git directory plus a .clawdie-source.json file recording the source remote,
 branch, commit, modified state, ISO version, and build channel at image build time.
 
-clawdie-ai (TypeScript) is no longer included — it is being phased out in favor
-of the colibri (Rust) control plane. The `clawdie` name is retained as the brand
-and bare-metal installer identity.
+clawdie-ai (TypeScript) is no longer included — it was superseded by the
+colibri (Rust) control plane. The `clawdie` name is retained as the brand and
+bare-metal installer identity; Colibri drives the Clawdie setup.
 
 hermes-bsd (Python) is the agent CLI and gateway — powers the Telegram bot,
 agent-to-agent relay, and the operator's primary chat interface.
diff --git a/docs/RELEASE-BUILD-RUNBOOK.md b/docs/RELEASE-BUILD-RUNBOOK.md
index 2572067f..d09896ae 100644
--- a/docs/RELEASE-BUILD-RUNBOOK.md
+++ b/docs/RELEASE-BUILD-RUNBOOK.md
@@ -149,11 +149,15 @@ Confirm:
 
 - `"iso_version": "0.11.0"`, `"version_scheme": "product"`,
   `"build_channel": "release"`.
-- `zot_commit`, `colibri_commit`, `clawdie_ai_commit`, `iso_repo_commit` are all
-  real SHAs (not `unknown`).
+- `zot_commit`, `colibri_commit`, `iso_repo_commit` are all real SHAs (not
+  `unknown`). `clawdie_ai_commit` reads `"superseded"`: the Node.js clawdie-ai
+  codebase was superseded by Colibri (Rust) as the control plane in PR #146.
+  Clawdie is the product; Colibri drives it, so there is no clawdie-ai commit
+  to track.
 - **Every** `*_modified` flag is `false` (`zot_modified`, `colibri_modified`,
-  `clawdie_ai_modified`, `iso_repo_modified`). A `true` here on a release means a
-  tree was modified — the gate should have caught it; investigate.
+  `iso_repo_modified`). `clawdie_ai_modified` is `null` (no longer tracked —
+  superseded). A `true` here on a release means a tree was modified — the gate
+  should have caught it; investigate.
 
 ---