diff --git a/docs/DESIGN.md b/docs/DESIGN.md
index 127b3d3052f3cd9f790a89604a101a6cdc5b2f21..ab293bb2d2fa4a06f294e2d62daccfc178adf354 100644
--- a/docs/DESIGN.md
+++ b/docs/DESIGN.md
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 # spec.sr.ht — reviewable document storage for humans and agents
 
-Status: **design / proposal** — nothing implemented yet.
+Status: **being built.** Phase 0 gate passed; Phase 1 mostly landed —
+`core/`, `gitx/`, `db/`, `authn/`, `prosediff/`, `doc/` and
+`cmd/specsrht-migrate` are committed and green. This document is kept
+*corrected against the implementation*: where building something proved a
+section wrong, the section was fixed and the correction noted rather than
+quietly overwritten.
 Author: bigbes (with Claude). Last updated: 2026-07-22.
 
 ## Context