diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/editor/extensions/markdown-clipboard.canonicalize.test.ts b/apps/client/src/features/editor/extensions/markdown-clipboard.canonicalize.test.ts
index 65d10481..e4d83288 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/features/editor/extensions/markdown-clipboard.canonicalize.test.ts
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/editor/extensions/markdown-clipboard.canonicalize.test.ts
@@ -117,6 +117,32 @@ describe("canonicalizePastedFootnotes", () => {
     editor.destroy();
   });
 
+  it("leaves a definitions-ONLY paste untouched (no references -> no empty paste)", () => {
+    // A whole-block paste of ONLY definitions (a footnotesList with no matching
+    // footnoteReference anywhere in the selection). Canonicalizing it would strip
+    // the reference-less list -> an EMPTY paste, losing the pasted text. The hook
+    // must leave such a block untouched.
+    const { editor, schema } = makeSchema();
+    const slice = new Slice(
+      Fragment.fromArray([
+        schema.nodes[FOOTNOTES_LIST_NAME].create(null, [
+          schema.nodes[FOOTNOTE_DEFINITION_NAME].create({ id: "a" }, [
+            schema.nodes.paragraph.create(null, [schema.text("note A")]),
+          ]),
+          schema.nodes[FOOTNOTE_DEFINITION_NAME].create({ id: "b" }, [
+            schema.nodes.paragraph.create(null, [schema.text("note B")]),
+          ]),
+        ]),
+      ]),
+      0,
+      0,
+    );
+    const out = canonicalizePastedFootnotes(slice, schema);
+    expect(out).toBe(slice); // returned unchanged (same reference, content kept)
+    expect(listIds(out)).toEqual(["a", "b"]);
+    editor.destroy();
+  });
+
   it("leaves an open (partial) slice untouched even if it carries a list", () => {
     // An open slice (openStart/openEnd > 0) is a partial selection, not a
     // standalone block, so it is returned as-is BEFORE any footnote handling.
diff --git a/apps/client/src/features/editor/extensions/markdown-clipboard.ts b/apps/client/src/features/editor/extensions/markdown-clipboard.ts
index 89b7c22e..c28d2690 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/features/editor/extensions/markdown-clipboard.ts
+++ b/apps/client/src/features/editor/extensions/markdown-clipboard.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   htmlToMarkdown,
   canonicalizeFootnotes,
   FOOTNOTES_LIST_NAME,
+  FOOTNOTE_REFERENCE_NAME,
 } from "@docmost/editor-ext";
 import type { Schema } from "@tiptap/pm/model";
 
@@ -165,15 +166,28 @@ export const MarkdownClipboard = Extension.create({
  * for the paste/sync plugins to merge. Residual: when the pasted block is merged
  * into a doc that already has footnotes, ordering RELATIVE to the pre-existing
  * footnotes is still governed by the sync plugin (which does not reorder).
+ *
+ * Also requires at least one footnoteReference in the selection: a definitions-ONLY
+ * paste (`[^a]: …` with no `[^a]` reference in the same block) has no references,
+ * so canonicalizeFootnotes would drop the whole list and the paste would come out
+ * EMPTY — losing the pasted text. Such a block is left as-is for the sync plugin.
  */
 export function canonicalizePastedFootnotes(slice: Slice, schema: Schema): Slice {
   if (slice.openStart !== 0 || slice.openEnd !== 0) return slice;
 
   let hasFootnotesList = false;
+  let hasReference = false;
   slice.content.forEach((node) => {
     if (node.type.name === FOOTNOTES_LIST_NAME) hasFootnotesList = true;
+    if (node.type.name === FOOTNOTE_REFERENCE_NAME) hasReference = true;
+    node.descendants((child) => {
+      if (child.type.name === FOOTNOTE_REFERENCE_NAME) hasReference = true;
+    });
   });
   if (!hasFootnotesList) return slice;
+  // No reference anywhere -> a definitions-only paste; canonicalizing would strip
+  // the reference-less list (empty paste). Leave it untouched.
+  if (!hasReference) return slice;
 
   const content = slice.content.toJSON();
   if (!Array.isArray(content)) return slice;
diff --git a/apps/server/src/core/page/services/page.service.ts b/apps/server/src/core/page/services/page.service.ts
index 44382d8a..c6ee150d 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/core/page/services/page.service.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/core/page/services/page.service.ts
@@ -1328,6 +1328,12 @@ export class PageService {
     // (Future consolidation, architecture B: the import services persist via a
     // different path; folding all of these into one "prepare JSON for persist"
     // helper would centralize the canonicalize call — left as follow-up.)
+    //
+    // ENFORCEMENT RULE (#228): any NEW FULL-document persist path MUST call
+    // `canonicalizeFootnotes(json)` before writing (see createPage and
+    // updatePageContent 'replace'); append/prepend FRAGMENT writes MUST NOT (it
+    // would drop or duplicate footnotes — that is exactly why this is per-call-site
+    // rather than a single wrapper here).
     try {
       jsonToNode(prosemirrorJson);
     } catch (err) {
diff --git a/packages/editor-ext/src/lib/footnote/footnote-canonicalize.test.ts b/packages/editor-ext/src/lib/footnote/footnote-canonicalize.test.ts
index 80b56874..4bc17bb6 100644
--- a/packages/editor-ext/src/lib/footnote/footnote-canonicalize.test.ts
+++ b/packages/editor-ext/src/lib/footnote/footnote-canonicalize.test.ts
@@ -308,6 +308,31 @@ describe('canonicalizeFootnotes golden parity with footnoteSyncPlugin', () => {
     });
   }
 
+  it('placement parity: the LIVE plugin leaves a list with NON-EMPTY content after it in place, and canonicalize agrees', () => {
+    // Drives the real footnoteSyncPlugin (not a hand-authored expected): a single
+    // canonical list with body content AFTER it must NOT be repositioned by the
+    // plugin, and the server canonicalizer must agree (step-6 placement parity).
+    const content = {
+      type: 'doc',
+      content: [
+        para({ type: 'text', text: 'a' }, ref('x')),
+        list(def('x', 'X')),
+        para({ type: 'text', text: 'epilogue' }),
+      ],
+    };
+    const steady = pluginSteadyState(content);
+    // The plugin did NOT move the list to the end: a non-empty paragraph follows it.
+    const types = steady.content.map((n: any) => n.type);
+    const listPos = types.indexOf(FOOTNOTES_LIST_NAME);
+    expect(listPos).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(listPos).toBeLessThan(types.length - 1);
+    const after = steady.content[listPos + 1];
+    expect(after.type).toBe('paragraph');
+    expect(JSON.stringify(after)).toContain('epilogue');
+    // The canonicalizer is a byte-for-byte no-op on that steady state (parity).
+    expect(canonicalizeFootnotes(steady)).toEqual(steady);
+  });
+
   it('the canonicalizer and the editor agree on reference order and definition set', () => {
     const content = {
       type: 'doc',
diff --git a/packages/editor-ext/src/lib/footnote/footnote-canonicalize.ts b/packages/editor-ext/src/lib/footnote/footnote-canonicalize.ts
index 3d52ea5f..21719eba 100644
--- a/packages/editor-ext/src/lib/footnote/footnote-canonicalize.ts
+++ b/packages/editor-ext/src/lib/footnote/footnote-canonicalize.ts
@@ -18,9 +18,11 @@ import {
  * `PageService` create/update (`parseProsemirrorContent` for the JSON/markdown/
  * HTML REST write paths), and the client markdown PASTE path
  * (`markdown-clipboard.ts`). (The MCP package mirrors this canonicalizer in
- * `packages/mcp/src/lib/footnote-canonicalize.ts` for its own write paths —
- * `markdownToProseMirror`, `update_page_json`, `docmost_transform`,
- * `insert_footnote` — see that file's header.) All of these are the root cause
+ * `packages/mcp/src/lib/footnote-canonicalize.ts` for its own FULL-document write
+ * paths — `markdownToProseMirrorCanonical` (the page markdown-import path; the
+ * plain `markdownToProseMirror` primitive used for COMMENT bodies does NOT
+ * canonicalize), `update_page_json`, `docmost_transform`, `insert_footnote`,
+ * `copy_page_content` — see that file's header.) All of these are the root cause
  * of the symptom in the issue: footnotes rendered out of order (`1, 4, 2, 3, …`),
  * a raw trailing `[^id]: …` block, and orphan definitions, all of which are
  * simply the result of content written PAST the canonicalizer.
diff --git a/packages/mcp/build/client.js b/packages/mcp/build/client.js
index 7b8fc936..422b0e6c 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/build/client.js
+++ b/packages/mcp/build/client.js
@@ -1118,13 +1118,16 @@ export class DocmostClient {
             result = { footnoteId: r.footnoteId, reused: r.reused };
             return r.doc;
         });
+        // The not-found path throws inside the transform (aborting mutatePage), so by
+        // here `result` is always set.
+        const r = result;
         return {
             success: true,
             modified: true,
             pageId,
-            footnoteId: result ? result.footnoteId : undefined,
-            reused: result ? result.reused : undefined,
-            message: result && result.reused
+            footnoteId: r.footnoteId,
+            reused: r.reused,
+            message: r.reused
                 ? "Footnote inserted (reused an existing same-content definition)."
                 : "Footnote inserted.",
             verify: mutation.verify,
@@ -2534,14 +2537,18 @@ export class DocmostClient {
                 !Array.isArray(raw.content)) {
                 throw new Error('transform must return a ProseMirror doc node ({ type:"doc", content:[...] })');
             }
+            // Validate the RAW transform output FIRST (structure — including the
+            // MAX_DEPTH guard — and URLs), mirroring updatePageJson. The canonicalizer
+            // recurses without a depth limiter, so validating after it would turn a
+            // too-deep doc into an opaque "Maximum call stack size exceeded" instead of
+            // the intended "nesting exceeds the maximum depth" error.
+            this.validateDocStructure(raw);
+            this.validateDocUrls(raw);
             // Auto-canonicalize footnotes after the transform (idempotent): no write
             // path can leave footnotes out of order / orphaned / in a raw `[^id]`
             // block. In a dryRun preview this may surface footnote edits the script
             // author did not write (the canonicalizer tidied them) — that is expected.
             const result = canonicalizeFootnotes(raw);
-            // Validate the returned doc before it can be written.
-            this.validateDocStructure(result);
-            this.validateDocUrls(result);
             newDoc = result;
             return result;
         };
diff --git a/packages/mcp/build/index.js b/packages/mcp/build/index.js
index 58197d09..edcad9e6 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/build/index.js
+++ b/packages/mcp/build/index.js
@@ -640,7 +640,10 @@ export function createDocmostMcpServer(config) {
             "commentsToFootnotes(doc, comments, {notesHeading}) (turn inline " +
             "comments into numbered footnotes), canonicalizeFootnotes(doc) (derive " +
             "footnote numbering + the single bottom list from reference order, drop " +
-            "orphans/duplicates — runs automatically after every transform too), and " +
+            "orphans/duplicates — runs AUTOMATICALLY on the transform RESULT, so the " +
+            "applied (and dryRun-previewed) doc is always footnote-canonical; a dryRun " +
+            "diff may therefore show footnote tidy-ups your script did not make, and " +
+            "it is idempotent after the first run), and " +
             "insertInlineFootnote(doc, {anchorText, text}) (author-inline footnote: " +
             "marker + dedup'd definition, list derived). Footnote convention: markers are " +
             "plain '[N]' text in the body; the notes are an orderedList under a " +
diff --git a/packages/mcp/build/lib/footnote-canonicalize.js b/packages/mcp/build/lib/footnote-canonicalize.js
index b6673082..1df76154 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/build/lib/footnote-canonicalize.js
+++ b/packages/mcp/build/lib/footnote-canonicalize.js
@@ -23,6 +23,15 @@
  * was never enforced. Running this at the end of every write path closes that
  * gap; because it is idempotent, it is a no-op when the footnotes are already
  * canonical (no spurious mutations / git-sync churn).
+ *
+ * ENFORCEMENT RULE (#228): any NEW FULL-document persist path MUST call
+ * `canonicalizeFootnotes(doc)` before writing — the current callers are
+ * `markdownToProseMirrorCanonical` (page markdown import/update; the plain
+ * `markdownToProseMirror` used for COMMENT bodies must NOT, or it would drop a
+ * reference-less definition), `update_page_json`, `docmost_transform`,
+ * `insert_footnote`, and `copy_page_content`. Append/prepend FRAGMENT writes MUST
+ * NOT canonicalize. This is deliberately per-call-site (the replace-vs-fragment
+ * and comment-vs-page nuances make a single naive wrapper unsafe).
  */
 const FOOTNOTE_REFERENCE_NAME = "footnoteReference";
 const FOOTNOTES_LIST_NAME = "footnotesList";
diff --git a/packages/mcp/build/lib/transforms.js b/packages/mcp/build/lib/transforms.js
index 935ff33d..c1b822ba 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/build/lib/transforms.js
+++ b/packages/mcp/build/lib/transforms.js
@@ -76,6 +76,27 @@ export function getList(doc, predicate) {
  * footnote inserter excludes via `beforeBlock`.)
  */
 const INLINE_ATOM_FORBIDDEN_BLOCKS = new Set(["codeBlock"]);
+/**
+ * Footnote-notes subtrees the inline footnote inserter must never split into (at
+ * any depth): a `footnotesList` and the `footnoteDefinition`s it holds. Anchoring
+ * a reference inside one of these would later be dropped as an orphan by the
+ * canonicalizer, taking the existing definition's text with it.
+ */
+const FOOTNOTE_NOTES_SUBTREES = new Set([
+    "footnotesList",
+    "footnoteDefinition",
+]);
+/** True if `node` IS, or contains at any depth, a footnotesList/footnoteDefinition. */
+function containsFootnoteNotes(node) {
+    if (!isObject(node))
+        return false;
+    if (FOOTNOTE_NOTES_SUBTREES.has(node.type))
+        return true;
+    if (Array.isArray(node.content)) {
+        return node.content.some((c) => containsFootnoteNotes(c));
+    }
+    return false;
+}
 /**
  * Insert `marker` as a PLAIN (unmarked) text run right after the first
  * occurrence of `anchor`.
@@ -136,6 +157,13 @@ function insertNodesAfterAnchor(doc, anchor, makeMiddle, opts = {}) {
             if (inserted || !isObject(container) || !Array.isArray(container.content)) {
                 return;
             }
+            // Skip a forbidden subtree entirely (e.g. footnotesList/footnoteDefinition):
+            // never split into it, but keep `offset` aligned for any sibling text after
+            // it within this block.
+            if (opts.skipSubtreeTypes && opts.skipSubtreeTypes.has(container.type)) {
+                offset += blockPlainText(container).length;
+                return;
+            }
             const inline = container.content;
             // Detect whether this array is an inline array (contains text nodes).
             const hasText = inline.some((n) => isObject(n) && n.type === "text");
@@ -553,18 +581,26 @@ export function insertInlineFootnote(doc, opts) {
     if (footnoteId == null)
         footnoteId = generateFootnoteId();
     // Insert the footnoteReference node directly after the anchor (mark-safe
-    // split); it hugs the preceding word with no leading space. The search is
-    // bounded to the BODY (before the first footnotesList) and refuses codeBlocks,
-    // so the inline atom can never be spliced into a footnote definition or a code
-    // block — which would persist a schema-invalid doc (insert_footnote skips
-    // validateDocStructure). When the only match is in such a place the insert is
-    // refused and the write aborts cleanly (inserted:false).
-    const listIdx = Array.isArray(doc?.content)
-        ? doc.content.findIndex((n) => isObject(n) && n.type === "footnotesList")
+    // split); it hugs the preceding word with no leading space. Two guards keep the
+    // inline atom out of the notes section and out of blocks that cannot hold it:
+    //  - beforeBlock bounds the search to the BODY, before the first top-level block
+    //    that IS or CONTAINS (at any depth) a footnotesList/footnoteDefinition — so
+    //    a NESTED list or a bare definition also bounds the search, not just a
+    //    top-level list;
+    //  - skipSubtreeTypes refuses to descend into any footnotesList/footnoteDefinition
+    //    subtree, so a reference is never glued inside an existing definition (which
+    //    the canonicalizer would then drop as an orphan, losing that definition's
+    //    prose); and forbidBlockTypes refuses codeBlocks (an inline atom there is a
+    //    schema-invalid doc; insert_footnote skips validateDocStructure).
+    // When the only anchor match is in such a place, the insert is refused and the
+    // write aborts cleanly (inserted:false) instead of destroying content.
+    const boundaryIdx = Array.isArray(doc?.content)
+        ? doc.content.findIndex((n) => containsFootnoteNotes(n))
         : -1;
     const r = insertNodesAfterAnchor(doc, (opts.anchorText ?? "").trimEnd(), () => [{ type: "footnoteReference", attrs: { id: footnoteId } }], {
-        ...(listIdx >= 0 ? { beforeBlock: listIdx } : {}),
+        ...(boundaryIdx >= 0 ? { beforeBlock: boundaryIdx } : {}),
         forbidBlockTypes: INLINE_ATOM_FORBIDDEN_BLOCKS,
+        skipSubtreeTypes: FOOTNOTE_NOTES_SUBTREES,
     });
     if (!r.inserted) {
         return { doc: clone(doc), inserted: false, footnoteId, reused };
diff --git a/packages/mcp/src/client.ts b/packages/mcp/src/client.ts
index 2228b34e..85a5a3a4 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/src/client.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp/src/client.ts
@@ -1420,13 +1420,16 @@ export class DocmostClient {
         return r.doc;
       },
     );
+    // The not-found path throws inside the transform (aborting mutatePage), so by
+    // here `result` is always set.
+    const r = result!;
     return {
       success: true,
       modified: true,
       pageId,
-      footnoteId: result ? (result as any).footnoteId : undefined,
-      reused: result ? (result as any).reused : undefined,
-      message: result && (result as any).reused
+      footnoteId: r.footnoteId,
+      reused: r.reused,
+      message: r.reused
         ? "Footnote inserted (reused an existing same-content definition)."
         : "Footnote inserted.",
       verify: mutation.verify,
@@ -3130,14 +3133,18 @@ export class DocmostClient {
           'transform must return a ProseMirror doc node ({ type:"doc", content:[...] })',
         );
       }
+      // Validate the RAW transform output FIRST (structure — including the
+      // MAX_DEPTH guard — and URLs), mirroring updatePageJson. The canonicalizer
+      // recurses without a depth limiter, so validating after it would turn a
+      // too-deep doc into an opaque "Maximum call stack size exceeded" instead of
+      // the intended "nesting exceeds the maximum depth" error.
+      this.validateDocStructure(raw);
+      this.validateDocUrls(raw);
       // Auto-canonicalize footnotes after the transform (idempotent): no write
       // path can leave footnotes out of order / orphaned / in a raw `[^id]`
       // block. In a dryRun preview this may surface footnote edits the script
       // author did not write (the canonicalizer tidied them) — that is expected.
       const result = canonicalizeFootnotes(raw);
-      // Validate the returned doc before it can be written.
-      this.validateDocStructure(result);
-      this.validateDocUrls(result);
       newDoc = result;
       return result;
     };
diff --git a/packages/mcp/src/index.ts b/packages/mcp/src/index.ts
index d439229a..db29f143 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp/src/index.ts
@@ -895,7 +895,10 @@ server.registerTool(
       "commentsToFootnotes(doc, comments, {notesHeading}) (turn inline " +
       "comments into numbered footnotes), canonicalizeFootnotes(doc) (derive " +
       "footnote numbering + the single bottom list from reference order, drop " +
-      "orphans/duplicates — runs automatically after every transform too), and " +
+      "orphans/duplicates — runs AUTOMATICALLY on the transform RESULT, so the " +
+      "applied (and dryRun-previewed) doc is always footnote-canonical; a dryRun " +
+      "diff may therefore show footnote tidy-ups your script did not make, and " +
+      "it is idempotent after the first run), and " +
       "insertInlineFootnote(doc, {anchorText, text}) (author-inline footnote: " +
       "marker + dedup'd definition, list derived). Footnote convention: markers are " +
       "plain '[N]' text in the body; the notes are an orderedList under a " +
diff --git a/packages/mcp/src/lib/footnote-canonicalize.ts b/packages/mcp/src/lib/footnote-canonicalize.ts
index 1e544a92..b4ae6e03 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/src/lib/footnote-canonicalize.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp/src/lib/footnote-canonicalize.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,15 @@
  * was never enforced. Running this at the end of every write path closes that
  * gap; because it is idempotent, it is a no-op when the footnotes are already
  * canonical (no spurious mutations / git-sync churn).
+ *
+ * ENFORCEMENT RULE (#228): any NEW FULL-document persist path MUST call
+ * `canonicalizeFootnotes(doc)` before writing — the current callers are
+ * `markdownToProseMirrorCanonical` (page markdown import/update; the plain
+ * `markdownToProseMirror` used for COMMENT bodies must NOT, or it would drop a
+ * reference-less definition), `update_page_json`, `docmost_transform`,
+ * `insert_footnote`, and `copy_page_content`. Append/prepend FRAGMENT writes MUST
+ * NOT canonicalize. This is deliberately per-call-site (the replace-vs-fragment
+ * and comment-vs-page nuances make a single naive wrapper unsafe).
  */
 
 const FOOTNOTE_REFERENCE_NAME = "footnoteReference";
diff --git a/packages/mcp/src/lib/transforms.ts b/packages/mcp/src/lib/transforms.ts
index 2bb96393..e3ab0cff 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/src/lib/transforms.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp/src/lib/transforms.ts
@@ -96,6 +96,15 @@ export interface InsertMarkerOptions {
    * markers leave this unset (text is valid inside a codeBlock).
    */
   forbidBlockTypes?: ReadonlySet<string>;
+  /**
+   * Node types whose ENTIRE subtree is skipped during the walk (never split into,
+   * at any depth). Used to keep the footnote inserter out of the notes section:
+   * splitting text inside an existing `footnoteDefinition` would glue a reference
+   * into a definition, which the canonicalizer then drops as an orphan together
+   * with the definition's prose — silent loss of an existing footnote. Skipped
+   * subtrees still advance the running offset so sibling text stays aligned.
+   */
+  skipSubtreeTypes?: ReadonlySet<string>;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -108,6 +117,27 @@ export interface InsertMarkerOptions {
  */
 const INLINE_ATOM_FORBIDDEN_BLOCKS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set(["codeBlock"]);
 
+/**
+ * Footnote-notes subtrees the inline footnote inserter must never split into (at
+ * any depth): a `footnotesList` and the `footnoteDefinition`s it holds. Anchoring
+ * a reference inside one of these would later be dropped as an orphan by the
+ * canonicalizer, taking the existing definition's text with it.
+ */
+const FOOTNOTE_NOTES_SUBTREES: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
+  "footnotesList",
+  "footnoteDefinition",
+]);
+
+/** True if `node` IS, or contains at any depth, a footnotesList/footnoteDefinition. */
+function containsFootnoteNotes(node: any): boolean {
+  if (!isObject(node)) return false;
+  if (FOOTNOTE_NOTES_SUBTREES.has(node.type)) return true;
+  if (Array.isArray(node.content)) {
+    return node.content.some((c: any) => containsFootnoteNotes(c));
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 /**
  * Insert `marker` as a PLAIN (unmarked) text run right after the first
  * occurrence of `anchor`.
@@ -187,6 +217,13 @@ function insertNodesAfterAnchor(
       if (inserted || !isObject(container) || !Array.isArray(container.content)) {
         return;
       }
+      // Skip a forbidden subtree entirely (e.g. footnotesList/footnoteDefinition):
+      // never split into it, but keep `offset` aligned for any sibling text after
+      // it within this block.
+      if (opts.skipSubtreeTypes && opts.skipSubtreeTypes.has(container.type)) {
+        offset += blockPlainText(container).length;
+        return;
+      }
       const inline = container.content;
       // Detect whether this array is an inline array (contains text nodes).
       const hasText = inline.some(
@@ -692,24 +729,30 @@ export function insertInlineFootnote(
   if (footnoteId == null) footnoteId = generateFootnoteId();
 
   // Insert the footnoteReference node directly after the anchor (mark-safe
-  // split); it hugs the preceding word with no leading space. The search is
-  // bounded to the BODY (before the first footnotesList) and refuses codeBlocks,
-  // so the inline atom can never be spliced into a footnote definition or a code
-  // block — which would persist a schema-invalid doc (insert_footnote skips
-  // validateDocStructure). When the only match is in such a place the insert is
-  // refused and the write aborts cleanly (inserted:false).
-  const listIdx = Array.isArray(doc?.content)
-    ? doc.content.findIndex(
-        (n: any) => isObject(n) && n.type === "footnotesList",
-      )
+  // split); it hugs the preceding word with no leading space. Two guards keep the
+  // inline atom out of the notes section and out of blocks that cannot hold it:
+  //  - beforeBlock bounds the search to the BODY, before the first top-level block
+  //    that IS or CONTAINS (at any depth) a footnotesList/footnoteDefinition — so
+  //    a NESTED list or a bare definition also bounds the search, not just a
+  //    top-level list;
+  //  - skipSubtreeTypes refuses to descend into any footnotesList/footnoteDefinition
+  //    subtree, so a reference is never glued inside an existing definition (which
+  //    the canonicalizer would then drop as an orphan, losing that definition's
+  //    prose); and forbidBlockTypes refuses codeBlocks (an inline atom there is a
+  //    schema-invalid doc; insert_footnote skips validateDocStructure).
+  // When the only anchor match is in such a place, the insert is refused and the
+  // write aborts cleanly (inserted:false) instead of destroying content.
+  const boundaryIdx = Array.isArray(doc?.content)
+    ? doc.content.findIndex((n: any) => containsFootnoteNotes(n))
     : -1;
   const r = insertNodesAfterAnchor(
     doc,
     (opts.anchorText ?? "").trimEnd(),
     () => [{ type: "footnoteReference", attrs: { id: footnoteId } }],
     {
-      ...(listIdx >= 0 ? { beforeBlock: listIdx } : {}),
+      ...(boundaryIdx >= 0 ? { beforeBlock: boundaryIdx } : {}),
       forbidBlockTypes: INLINE_ATOM_FORBIDDEN_BLOCKS,
+      skipSubtreeTypes: FOOTNOTE_NOTES_SUBTREES,
     },
   );
   if (!r.inserted) {
diff --git a/packages/mcp/test/unit/footnote-canonicalize.test.mjs b/packages/mcp/test/unit/footnote-canonicalize.test.mjs
index 3052aad2..e626b316 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/test/unit/footnote-canonicalize.test.mjs
+++ b/packages/mcp/test/unit/footnote-canonicalize.test.mjs
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@ import { test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 
 import { canonicalizeFootnotes } from "../../build/lib/footnote-canonicalize.js";
-import { footnoteContentKey } from "../../build/lib/footnote-authoring.js";
+import {
+  footnoteContentKey,
+  generateFootnoteId,
+} from "../../build/lib/footnote-authoring.js";
 import { insertInlineFootnote } from "../../build/lib/transforms.js";
 import { markdownToProseMirrorCanonical } from "../../build/lib/collaboration.js";
 
@@ -190,6 +193,66 @@ test("insertInlineFootnote: codeBlock match is skipped, a later body paragraph s
   assert.equal(findAll(r.doc, "footnoteReference").length, 1);
 });
 
+test("insertInlineFootnote: anchor only inside a NESTED definition -> refused, definition preserved", () => {
+  // The footnotesList is nested in a callout (not top level) and the anchor text
+  // appears ONLY inside that definition. The search must be bounded past the
+  // notes subtree (recursive boundary) AND refuse to descend into the definition,
+  // so it aborts cleanly instead of gluing a reference into the definition (which
+  // canonicalize would then drop as an orphan, losing the definition's prose).
+  const doc = {
+    type: "doc",
+    content: [
+      para({ type: "text", text: "Body text here." }, ref("a")),
+      {
+        type: "callout",
+        content: [list(def("a", "the unique anchor lives here"))],
+      },
+    ],
+  };
+  const r = insertInlineFootnote(doc, {
+    anchorText: "unique anchor",
+    text: "new note",
+  });
+  assert.equal(r.inserted, false);
+  // The existing definition (and its text) is preserved untouched.
+  assert.equal(findAll(r.doc, "footnoteDefinition").length, 1);
+  assert.match(JSON.stringify(r.doc), /the unique anchor lives here/);
+  assert.equal(findAll(r.doc, "footnoteReference").length, 1); // only the original
+});
+
+test("insertInlineFootnote: anchor only inside a BARE definition (no list wrapper) -> refused", () => {
+  const doc = {
+    type: "doc",
+    content: [
+      para({ type: "text", text: "Some body." }),
+      {
+        type: "footnoteDefinition",
+        attrs: { id: "a" },
+        content: [{ type: "paragraph", content: [{ type: "text", text: "orphan anchor text" }] }],
+      },
+    ],
+  };
+  const r = insertInlineFootnote(doc, { anchorText: "orphan anchor", text: "x" });
+  assert.equal(r.inserted, false);
+  assert.equal(findAll(r.doc, "footnoteDefinition").length, 1);
+  assert.match(JSON.stringify(r.doc), /orphan anchor text/);
+});
+
+test("insertInlineFootnote: anchor in body BEFORE a nested list still inserts", () => {
+  const doc = {
+    type: "doc",
+    content: [
+      para({ type: "text", text: "The sky is blue." }, ref("a")),
+      { type: "callout", content: [list(def("a", "note a"))] },
+    ],
+  };
+  const r = insertInlineFootnote(doc, { anchorText: "blue", text: "Rayleigh." });
+  assert.equal(r.inserted, true);
+  // The new reference plus the original = two references; a single canonical list.
+  assert.equal(findAll(r.doc, "footnoteReference").length, 2);
+  assert.equal(findAll(r.doc, "footnotesList").length, 1);
+});
+
 test("markdown import (page path): out-of-order definitions render as a reference-ordered list", async () => {
   // References appear b, a, c in the body; definitions are written in a, b, c
   // order (the import order). The PAGE import path (markdownToProseMirrorCanonical)
@@ -207,3 +270,17 @@ test("markdown import (page path): out-of-order definitions render as a referenc
   assert.deepEqual(defIds(json), ["b", "a", "c"]);
   assert.equal(findAll(json, "footnotesList").length, 1);
 });
+
+test("generateFootnoteId: valid uuidv7 shape (version 7, variant 8..b) and unique", () => {
+  // version nibble = 7; variant nibble in [8,9,a,b]; otherwise lowercase hex.
+  const re =
+    /^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-7[0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/;
+  const ids = new Set();
+  for (let i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
+    const id = generateFootnoteId();
+    assert.match(id, re, `not a uuidv7: ${id}`);
+    ids.add(id);
+  }
+  // Distinct across calls (random component makes collisions astronomically rare).
+  assert.equal(ids.size, 50, "generated ids must be unique");
+});