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+## Symptom
+
+Windows dictation / QA lifecycle previously had two event sources driving the same state machine:
+
+- OS-level low-level keyboard hook
+- renderer / window-local hotkey forwarding
+
+That design is risky even when the product "seems to work":
+
+- press/release edges can come from different sources
+- focus switches can strand half an edge
+- hold mode and toggle mode can drift differently on Windows only
+
+## Evidence
+
+- [openless-all/app/src/App.tsx](/D:/Users/cooper/Practice-Project/202604/openless/openless-all/app/src/App.tsx)
+  - Windows window-local forwarding existed in the frontend path
+- [openless-all/app/src-tauri/src/coordinator.rs](/D:/Users/cooper/Practice-Project/202604/openless/openless-all/app/src-tauri/src/coordinator.rs)
+  - backend also accepted `handle_window_hotkey_event`
+- [openless-all/app/src-tauri/src/hotkey.rs](/D:/Users/cooper/Practice-Project/202604/openless/openless-all/app/src-tauri/src/hotkey.rs)
+  - Windows already owns a `WH_KEYBOARD_LL` low-level hook
+
+Current convergence from this repair track:
+
+- QA hotkey / follow-up flow works
+- Windows owner source should be the backend low-level hook
+- window-local forwarding should not keep driving the same lifecycle
+
+## Root Cause Convergence
+
+This was not just "an extra fallback path".
+
+It was an ownership problem:
+
+```text
+Two independent input sources were allowed to influence one dictation / QA
+lifecycle state machine without an explicit precedence contract.
+```
+
+## 5 Whys
+
+1. Why is this a lifecycle issue and not just a convenience fallback?
+   - Because the second path was able to trigger real start/stop edges.
+2. Why is that dangerous?
+   - Because mixed-source ordering can desynchronize phase transitions.
+3. Why is it primarily a Windows issue?
+   - Because Windows carried both the low-level hook and the renderer-forward path.
+4. Why does this diverge from original intent?
+   - Because one user gesture should map to one stable lifecycle transition.
+5. Why is this near closure now?
+   - Because current repair work has already converged on a single owner source: backend low-level hook.
+
+## Platform Scope
+
+- Direct symptom scope: Windows implementation risk
+- Problem layer: input source ownership, lifecycle precedence, focus-sensitive edge delivery
+
+## Related Issues
+
+- #154 main issue anchor
+- #147 settings-to-runtime listener refresh contract
+- #158 governance issue for helper-window / native-window contract family
+
+## Impact
+
+- Without a single owner source, Windows-only lifecycle drift remains hard to reproduce and harder to trust
+- With ownership clarified, regression review can focus on evidence instead of guessing which path fired
+
+## Proposed Acceptance Criteria
+
+- [ ] Windows lifecycle owner source is explicitly documented as backend low-level hook
+- [ ] window-local forwarding no longer drives the main lifecycle unless a future explicit fallback contract is introduced
+- [ ] regression review confirms no new mixed-source ordering evidence
+
+## Status Note
+
+Current recommendation: treat this issue as near-closure and use it as a regression-review anchor rather than a new large refactor anchor.
diff --git a/docs/github-tracking/pr-154-windows-dual-hotkey.md b/docs/github-tracking/pr-154-windows-dual-hotkey.md
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+## Summary
+
+Closes #154
+
+This draft PR now serves as a near-closure tracking anchor for the Windows dual-hotkey-source problem.
+
+Current conclusion:
+
+- Windows dictation / QA lifecycle should be owned by the backend low-level hook
+- renderer / window-local forwarding should not keep driving the same lifecycle
+- future work here should focus on regression review, not on reopening the architecture without new evidence
+
+## Current Status
+
+- keep draft for now
+- close to regression review
+- not a parked native-strategy problem like #153
+
+## Scope
+
+- source ownership
+- lifecycle precedence
+- mixed-source risk on Windows
+
+Out of scope:
+
+- helper-window drag semantics
+- main window / radius / appearance work
+- broad hotkey adapter rewrites without new evidence
+
+## Key Finding
+
+```text
+One lifecycle needs one owner source.
+On Windows, that owner source should be the backend low-level hook.
+```
+
+## Evidence
+
+- QA hotkey and follow-up flow remain healthy after ownership tightening
+- no evidence from this repair track suggests the renderer-forward path should remain a co-owner
+
+## Next Step
+
+- use this PR as the place to summarize regression evidence
+- only reopen architecture scope if new mixed-source failures appear
+
+## Validation Plan
+
+- [x] Manual verification: QA hotkey flow remains functional
+- [x] Manual verification: lifecycle tightening did not break follow-up QA
+- [ ] Regression review: confirm no new mixed-source phase drift evidence
diff --git a/docs/windows-lifecycle-tracking/issue-154-dual-hotkey-sources.md b/docs/windows-lifecycle-tracking/issue-154-dual-hotkey-sources.md
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+# Issue #154 Tracking
+
+Scope: Windows dictation lifecycle driven by two hotkey event sources
+
+Current stage:
+
+- This branch is a draft PR placeholder.
+- No runtime fix is included yet.
+- The goal is to lock down source ownership and failure modes before changing behavior.
+
+Problem statement:
+
+- Windows currently has both OS-level low-level keyboard hook input and focused-window renderer forwarding.
+- macOS/Linux do not have the same dual-source lifecycle driver.
+- Shared dedupe exists, but source precedence is not yet a first-class contract.
+
+Implementation target to converge before coding:
+
+- Decide whether Windows should have one owner source or an explicit precedence model.
+- Define expected behavior for mixed-source press/release ordering.
+- Add testable scenarios for hold mode, toggle mode, and focus switching.
+
+Non-goals in this draft:
+
+- No hotkey adapter rewrite yet
+- No input-stack refactor without agreed target contract
+- No unrelated QA hotkey changes