diff --git a/src/commands/schema/cli-help-topics.test.ts b/src/commands/schema/cli-help-topics.test.ts
index 7aed69c87f..2364272b00 100644
--- a/src/commands/schema/cli-help-topics.test.ts
+++ b/src/commands/schema/cli-help-topics.test.ts
@@ -237,16 +237,13 @@ test('usageForCommand resolves workflow help topic', async () => {
   );
   assert.match(help, /run serially within one session/);
   assert.match(help, /Wait failure contract:/);
-  assert.match(help, /wait_target_absent: a readable capture ran and found no match/);
-  assert.match(help, /wait_target_present: wait absent timed out with matches/);
-  assert.match(
-    help,
-    /predicate_failed: wait absent had no valid capture; final observation\/diagnostic is preserved/,
-  );
-  assert.match(help, /wait_capture_stalled: no readable capture finished before the deadline/);
-  assert.match(help, /wait_deadline_exceeded: a later capture used the remaining budget/);
-  assert.match(help, /wait_landmark_identity_mismatch: a replay destination guard/);
-  assert.match(help, /wait_stable_timeout: wait stable never saw a stable UI/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_target_absent: readable capture, no match/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_target_present: absence timeout/);
+  assert.match(help, /predicate_failed: no valid absence capture; observation\/diagnostic kept/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_capture_stalled: no readable capture by deadline/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_deadline_exceeded: later capture exhausted budget/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_landmark_identity_mismatch: replay guard/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_stable_timeout: no stable UI/);
   assert.match(help, /Ambiguous find: add --first or --last/);
   assert.match(help, /macOS context menus are secondary clicks \(help macos\)/);
   assert.match(help, /Nearby mutation diff: diff snapshot -i/);
diff --git a/src/commands/schema/cli-help-workflows.test.ts b/src/commands/schema/cli-help-workflows.test.ts
index 157f3ed6df..f3318c48f2 100644
--- a/src/commands/schema/cli-help-workflows.test.ts
+++ b/src/commands/schema/cli-help-workflows.test.ts
@@ -63,9 +63,9 @@ test('usageForCommand resolves manual QA help topic', async () => {
   assert.match(help, /Do not use placeholders such as @ref/);
   assert.match(help, /wait text\/selector\/absent/);
   assert.match(help, /wait absent 'label="Loading\.\.\."' 3000/);
-  assert.match(help, /wait_target_absent: a readable capture ran and found no match/);
-  assert.match(help, /wait_target_present: wait absent timed out with matches/);
-  assert.match(help, /wait_capture_stalled: no readable capture finished before the deadline/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_target_absent: readable capture, no match/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_target_present: absence timeout/);
+  assert.match(help, /wait_capture_stalled: no readable capture by deadline/);
 });
 
 test('usageForCommand resolves validate help topic', async () => {
diff --git a/src/commands/schema/cli-help-workflows.ts b/src/commands/schema/cli-help-workflows.ts
index 68f90f92c1..927329c720 100644
--- a/src/commands/schema/cli-help-workflows.ts
+++ b/src/commands/schema/cli-help-workflows.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
 export const WAIT_FAILURE_CONTRACT = `Wait failure contract:
-  Read error.details.reason in --json, not the message text.
-  wait_target_absent: a readable capture ran and found no match.
-  wait_target_present: wait absent timed out with matches; details include matches and firstMatch.
-  predicate_failed: wait absent had no valid capture; final observation/diagnostic is preserved.
-  wait_capture_stalled: no readable capture finished before the deadline -- retriable.
-  wait_deadline_exceeded: a later capture used the remaining budget after an earlier readable one.
-  wait_landmark_identity_mismatch: a replay destination guard found the selector but not the recorded identity.
-  wait_stable_timeout: wait stable never saw a stable UI -- not an absence verdict.
+  Read --json error.details.reason.
+  wait_target_absent: readable capture, no match.
+  wait_target_present: absence timeout; details.matches/firstMatch.
+  predicate_failed: no valid absence capture; observation/diagnostic kept.
+  wait_capture_stalled: no readable capture by deadline -- retriable.
+  wait_deadline_exceeded: later capture exhausted budget after a readable one.
+  wait_readiness_exhausted: readiness deadline; details.readinessPhase -- retriable.
+  wait_runner_restart_exhausted: restart deadline -- retriable.
+  wait_landmark_identity_mismatch: replay guard: selector matched, recorded identity differed.
+  wait_stable_timeout: no stable UI -- not absence.
 `;
 
 export const manualQaHelpTopics = {