diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/collect.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/collect.go
index d30344e1..f9c1362c 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/collect.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/collect.go
@@ -17,14 +17,126 @@ import (
 // moment the keep set moved, so it is the moment to say what may go — and it needs no timer of
 // its own. Reclaiming the bytes is the store's own nightly step; this only decides.
 //
+// **And run when a person asks** (novox/hq ADR 0251): the `collect` verb is the same sweep, with
+// bounds of its own. One implementation, so what a person runs is exactly what a build runs.
+//
 // Never fatal to a build. The build succeeded, the module is registered, and a store that could
 // not be reached is a thing to say rather than a reason to undo any of that. The next build asks
 // again, and the references it could not collect are still uncollected, so nothing is lost by
 // having failed.
 
+// sweepBounds is how much one sweep may ask of the store.
+type sweepBounds struct {
+	// most is how many artifacts it lets go of at most.
+	most int
+	// budget is the longest it keeps its caller waiting.
+	budget time.Duration
+}
+
+// afterBuild are the bounds of the sweep inside somebody's build.
+//
+// **Bounded, because this runs inside somebody's build.** The first sweep of a mesh that has never
+// collected has the whole history to get through, and a person waiting on `build` should not pay for
+// it. What is left over is simply offered again next time — builds are frequent, and the point is
+// that the store stops growing, not that it empties tonight.
+var afterBuild = sweepBounds{most: mostPerSweep, budget: sweepBudget}
+
+// sweepResult is what one sweep did.
+type sweepResult struct {
+	// HoldersWritten is how many kept archives the store now holds by a manifest it did not before.
+	HoldersWritten int
+	// Missing is how many kept archives the store does not have at all.
+	Missing int
+	// Held is whether every kept archive could be asked to be held; false stops the sweep before it
+	// lets anything go.
+	Held bool
+	// LetGo is what the store let go of, and the record now says collected.
+	LetGo []string
+	// Skipped is how many references the sweep will not address (novox/hq issue 226).
+	Skipped int
+	// Left is how many eligible references were not asked about this time.
+	Left int
+	// Bounded is whether it stopped at its bounds rather than at a refusal.
+	Bounded bool
+	// Stopped says why the sweep stopped before the end; empty when it did not.
+	Stopped string
+}
+
+// sweep holds every kept archive, then asks the store to let go of each reference in order, records
+// what it let go of, and says what it did.
+func sweep(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, store artifacts.Store, references, kept []string,
+	bounds sweepBounds) sweepResult {
+	within, stop := context.WithTimeout(ctx, bounds.budget)
+	defer stop()
+	var r sweepResult
+
+	// **Hold before letting go** (novox/hq issue 253). The store's collector keeps only what a
+	// manifest names, and archives were published as bare blobs, so every kept archive is first
+	// held by its manifest — which backfills the ones published before holders, a few at a time
+	// as builds come, and is two HEADs each once done. A kept archive that could not be held stops
+	// the sweep before it deletes anything: "everything kept is held" is the precondition the
+	// collector's safety rests on, and a store refusing a hold would refuse the deletes too.
+	wrote, missing, err := holdKept(within, store, kept)
+	r.HoldersWritten, r.Missing = wrote, missing
+	if err != nil {
+		r.Stopped = fmt.Sprintf("not every kept archive could be held, so nothing was let go: %v", err)
+		r.Left = len(references)
+		return r
+	}
+	r.Held = true
+
+	for i, reference := range references {
+		if i >= bounds.most || within.Err() != nil {
+			r.Left = len(references) - i
+			r.Bounded = true
+			if i >= bounds.most {
+				r.Stopped = fmt.Sprintf("asked about %d, the most one sweep asks", bounds.most)
+			} else {
+				r.Stopped = fmt.Sprintf("ran out of its %s", bounds.budget)
+			}
+			break
+		}
+		err := store.LetGo(within, reference)
+		if err == nil || errors.Is(err, artifacts.Gone) {
+			// Gone is the outcome wanted, already true. Recorded so the next sweep does not ask
+			// again for ever.
+			r.LetGo = append(r.LetGo, reference)
+			continue
+		}
+		if errors.Is(err, artifacts.ErrNotOurs) {
+			// **A fact about this record, so this record is skipped** (novox/hq issue 226). Not
+			// marked collected — the mesh did not remove it and should not claim to — and not a
+			// reason to stop, because the store was never asked. One of these at the front of
+			// the oldest-first order ended every sweep until this.
+			r.Skipped++
+			if r.Skipped == 1 {
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the sweep will not address %s and went on: %v\n", reference, err)
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+		// **Stopped at the first refusal by the STORE, not pushed through.** A store that refuses
+		// one refuses all of them — deletion disabled, the store down, the network gone — so
+		// going on would be a hundred identical failures and a hundred identical log lines in
+		// front of whoever was building something.
+		r.Stopped = fmt.Sprintf("the artifact store kept %s, so nothing more was asked of it: %v", reference, err)
+		r.Left = len(references) - i
+		break
+	}
+
+	if len(r.LetGo) > 0 {
+		// Recorded outside `within`: the deletions happened, and losing the record of them because
+		// the sweep ran out of budget would mean asking about them again for ever.
+		if err := inv.MarkCollected(ctx, r.LetGo); err != nil {
+			r.Stopped = fmt.Sprintf("the store let go of %d artifact(s) and the record of it did not keep: %v",
+				len(r.LetGo), err)
+		}
+	}
+	return r
+}
+
 // collect asks the store to let go of everything the mesh made and no longer keeps, and records
-// what it let go of. Says what it did and what it could not; returns nothing, because nothing
-// upstream should branch on it.
+// what it let go of — after a build. Says what it did and what it could not; returns nothing,
+// because nothing upstream should branch on it.
 func collect(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) {
 	references, err := inv.ToCollect(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -55,86 +167,25 @@ func collect(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	// **Bounded, because this runs inside somebody's build.** The first sweep of a mesh that has
-	// never collected has the whole history to get through, and a person waiting on `build` should
-	// not pay for it. Two bounds, and what is left over is simply offered again next time —
-	// builds are frequent, and the point is that the store stops growing, not that it empties
-	// tonight.
-	within, stop := context.WithTimeout(ctx, sweepBudget)
-	defer stop()
-	store := artifacts.Store{Address: address}
-
-	// **Hold before letting go** (novox/hq issue 253). The store's collector keeps only what a
-	// manifest names, and archives were published as bare blobs, so every kept archive is first
-	// held by its manifest — which backfills the ones published before holders, a few at a time
-	// as builds come, and is two HEADs each once done. A kept archive that could not be held stops
-	// the sweep before it deletes anything: "everything kept is held" is the precondition the
-	// collector's safety rests on, and a store refusing a hold would refuse the deletes too.
-	wrote, missing, err := holdKept(within, store, kept)
-	if wrote > 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the artifact store now holds %d more kept archive(s) by a manifest\n", wrote)
+	r := sweep(ctx, inv, artifacts.Store{Address: address}, references, kept, afterBuild)
+	if r.HoldersWritten > 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the artifact store now holds %d more kept archive(s) by a manifest\n", r.HoldersWritten)
 	}
-	if missing > 0 {
+	if r.Missing > 0 {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d archive(s) the mesh keeps are not in the artifact store at all; "+
-			"`collection` lists them\n", missing)
+			"`collection` lists them\n", r.Missing)
 	}
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "not every kept archive could be held, so nothing was let go: %v\n", err)
-		return
+	if len(r.LetGo) > 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the artifact store let go of %d artifact(s) the mesh no longer keeps\n", len(r.LetGo))
 	}
-
-	var done []string
-	var left, skipped int
-	for i, reference := range references {
-		if i >= mostPerSweep || within.Err() != nil {
-			left = len(references) - i
-			break
-		}
-		err := store.LetGo(within, reference)
-		if err == nil || errors.Is(err, artifacts.Gone) {
-			// Gone is the outcome wanted, already true. Recorded so the next sweep does not ask
-			// again for ever.
-			done = append(done, reference)
-			continue
-		}
-		if errors.Is(err, artifacts.ErrNotOurs) {
-			// **A fact about this record, so this record is skipped** (novox/hq issue 226). Not
-			// marked collected — the mesh did not remove it and should not claim to — and not a
-			// reason to stop, because the store was never asked. One of these at the front of
-			// the oldest-first order ended every sweep until this.
-			skipped++
-			if skipped == 1 {
-				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr,
-					"the sweep will not address %s and went on: %v\n", reference, err)
-			}
-			continue
-		}
-		// **Stopped at the first refusal by the STORE, not pushed through.** A store that refuses
-		// one refuses all of them — deletion disabled, the store down, the network gone — so
-		// going on would be a hundred identical failures and a hundred identical log lines in
-		// front of whoever was building something.
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the artifact store kept %s, so nothing more was asked of it: %v\n",
-			reference, err)
-		left = len(references) - i
-		break
+	if r.Stopped != "" && !r.Bounded {
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, r.Stopped)
 	}
-
-	if len(done) > 0 {
-		// Recorded outside `within`: the deletions happened, and losing the record of them because
-		// the sweep ran out of budget would mean asking about them again for ever.
-		if err := inv.MarkCollected(ctx, done); err != nil {
-			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the store let go of %d artifact(s) and the record of it did not keep: %v\n",
-				len(done), err)
-			return
-		}
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the artifact store let go of %d artifact(s) the mesh no longer keeps\n",
-			len(done))
+	if r.Held && r.Left > 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d more to collect; the next build asks again\n", r.Left)
 	}
-	if left > 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d more to collect; the next build asks again\n", left)
-	}
-	if skipped > 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d artifact(s) the sweep will not address were skipped\n", skipped)
+	if r.Skipped > 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d artifact(s) the sweep will not address were skipped\n", r.Skipped)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/handacts.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/handacts.go
index 9901927c..e127d58e 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/handacts.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/handacts.go
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ var handActVerbs = []handActVerb{
 	{Verb: "retire approve", Decision: "nothing is retired past its bound without a person (ADR 0230)"},
 	{Verb: "retire reject", Decision: "keeping a consumer active is a person's word (ADR 0230)"},
 	{Verb: "cleanup delete", Decision: "nothing retired is deleted without a person (ADR 0230)"},
+	// The sweep run on a person's word rather than after a build: the same decision the records make, at
+	// a moment the person chose (ADR 0251) — never a repair.
+	{Verb: "collect", Decision: "letting the store go of what the records keep for no reason, now rather " +
+		"than at the next build, is a person's word (ADR 0251)"},
 	{Verb: "bus upgrade", Decision: "the bus is never rolled by the mesh: replacing it is a planned step a " +
 		"person starts (ADR 0236)"},
 	{Verb: "upgrade release-backlog", Decision: "after a release plan failed, the next opens only when a " +
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/main.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/main.go
index a25a1127..71c291fb 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/main.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/main.go
@@ -93,6 +93,13 @@ func run() error {
 		return pauseCommand(ctx, args[0], args[1:])
 	case "collection":
 		return collectionCommand(ctx, args[1:])
+	// What the records say the registries may keep, asked on demand (novox/hq ADR 0251).
+	case "artifacts":
+		return artifactsCommand(ctx, args[1:])
+	case "collect":
+		return collectCommand(ctx, args[1:])
+	case "images":
+		return imagesCommand(ctx, args[1:])
 	case "plans":
 		return plansCommand(ctx, args[1:])
 	case "delivery":
@@ -240,6 +247,10 @@ func usage() {
   cleanup [list] [--json]        every retired consumer per provider: age, size, why
   cleanup delete <node> <module> <consumer> --why <text>   the provider deletes that one retired consumer
   cleanup delete --older-than <days> --why <text> [--confirm]   list those older; delete only with --confirm
+  artifacts [--json] [--repository <r>] [--collected]   every artifact the mesh made: kept and why, eligible, collected (ADR 0251)
+  collect [--json] [--most <n>]  what the store's sweep would let go of, now; nothing is done
+  collect --confirm --why <text> [--most <n>]   run the sweep now: hold every kept archive, let go of the eligible
+  images <node> [--json]         every container image the machine's declaration names, now and as last sent
   seats [--json]                 every seat this mesh defines, what it delivers, and who holds it
   seat rename <from> <to>        rename a seat; its former name still resolves (ADR 0122)
   seat <name> --to <node>/<module>   hand a seat to that assignment as one act; never empty in between (ADR 0131)
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/registry_verbs.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/registry_verbs.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ab4dd994
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/registry_verbs.go
@@ -0,0 +1,443 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"slices"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/artifacts"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// What the records say the registries may keep, asked on demand (novox/hq ADR 0251, to-be 51).
+//
+// Three commands, each a verb of the mesh-controller seat:
+//
+//   - `artifacts` — every reference the mesh recorded making, with its state: what the store's own
+//     tools set beside what the store holds;
+//   - `collect`   — the sweep that runs after a build, run when a person asks, a dry run without
+//     --confirm;
+//   - `images`    — every container image a machine's declaration names, now and as last sent: what
+//     a machine keeps when it prunes its images.
+
+// artifactEntry is one recorded reference as `artifacts` answers it. Compact: the answer carries every
+// kept and eligible reference the mesh has, in one bus message.
+type artifactEntry struct {
+	Reference  string   `json:"reference"`
+	Repository string   `json:"repository"`
+	Digest     string   `json:"digest"`
+	Kind       string   `json:"kind"`
+	State      string   `json:"state"`
+	Why        []string `json:"why,omitempty"`
+}
+
+type artifactCounts struct {
+	Kept      int `json:"kept"`
+	Eligible  int `json:"eligible"`
+	Collected int `json:"collected"`
+}
+
+type artifactsAnswer struct {
+	Store      string          `json:"store"`
+	KeptBuilds int             `json:"kept_builds"`
+	Counts     artifactCounts  `json:"counts"`
+	References []artifactEntry `json:"references"`
+}
+
+// artifactEntryOf reads a recorded reference into its repository, digest and kind; false for one that
+// is not into the mesh's artifact store or names nothing by digest there.
+func artifactEntryOf(s inventory.ArtifactState) (artifactEntry, bool) {
+	path, ours := catalogue.InArtifactStore(s.Reference)
+	if !ours {
+		return artifactEntry{}, false
+	}
+	e := artifactEntry{Reference: s.Reference, State: s.State, Why: s.Why}
+	if repository, digest, ok := strings.Cut(path, "@sha256:"); ok {
+		e.Repository, e.Digest, e.Kind = repository, "sha256:"+digest, "image"
+		return e, true
+	}
+	if repository, digest, ok := strings.Cut(path, "/blobs/sha256:"); ok {
+		e.Repository, e.Digest, e.Kind = repository, "sha256:"+digest, "archive"
+		return e, true
+	}
+	return artifactEntry{}, false
+}
+
+// artifactsOf is the answer for these states: counted whole, listed narrowed.
+//
+// **Collected references are listed only when asked for** (novox/hq ADR 0251, issue 314). They are
+// history: every artifact the mesh ever let go stays collected for ever, so their number only grows,
+// and a verb's answer is one bus message — an answer that outgrows it is lost on its way back. Kept
+// and eligible are bounded by what the mesh holds now; the collected are counted, always.
+func artifactsOf(states []inventory.ArtifactState, repository string, withCollected bool) artifactsAnswer {
+	a := artifactsAnswer{KeptBuilds: inventory.KeptBuilds, References: []artifactEntry{}}
+	for _, s := range states {
+		e, ours := artifactEntryOf(s)
+		if !ours {
+			continue
+		}
+		switch s.State {
+		case inventory.ArtifactKept:
+			a.Counts.Kept++
+		case inventory.ArtifactEligible:
+			a.Counts.Eligible++
+		case inventory.ArtifactCollected:
+			a.Counts.Collected++
+		}
+		if repository != "" && e.Repository != repository {
+			continue
+		}
+		if s.State == inventory.ArtifactCollected && !withCollected {
+			continue
+		}
+		a.References = append(a.References, e)
+	}
+	return a
+}
+
+func artifactsCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
+	set := flag.NewFlagSet("artifacts", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	asJSON := set.Bool("json", false, "answer as JSON")
+	repository := set.String("repository", "", "only this repository's references (<module>/<artifact>); the counts stay whole")
+	collected := set.Bool("collected", false, "list the collected references too")
+	positionals, err := parseAround(set, args)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if len(positionals) != 0 {
+		return errors.New("artifacts [--json] [--repository <module>/<artifact>] [--collected]")
+	}
+	open, err := openStores(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer open.Close()
+	states, err := open.inventory.Artifacts(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	answer := artifactsOf(states, strings.TrimSpace(*repository), *collected)
+	if shelf, err := open.inventory.Catalogue(ctx); err == nil {
+		answer.Store, _ = artifactStoreAddress(ctx, open.inventory, shelf, "")
+	}
+	if *asJSON {
+		encoder := json.NewEncoder(os.Stdout)
+		encoder.SetIndent("", " ")
+		return encoder.Encode(answer)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("artifact store   %s\nkept             %d\neligible         %d\ncollected        %d\n",
+		storeOrNone(answer.Store), answer.Counts.Kept, answer.Counts.Eligible, answer.Counts.Collected)
+	for _, e := range answer.References {
+		why := ""
+		if len(e.Why) > 0 {
+			why = " (" + strings.Join(e.Why, ", ") + ")"
+		}
+		fmt.Printf("  %-9s %s%s\n", e.State, e.Reference, why)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func storeOrNone(s string) string {
+	if s == "" {
+		return "(not on the network)"
+	}
+	return s
+}
+
+// collectAnswer is what `collect` did, or — a dry run — would do.
+type collectAnswer struct {
+	DryRun       bool   `json:"dry_run"`
+	Store        string `json:"store"`
+	KeptArchives int    `json:"kept_archives"`
+	// Held is how many kept archives the store holds by a manifest: asked with HEADs in a dry run,
+	// after the holding in a real one.
+	Held           int `json:"held"`
+	Unheld         int `json:"unheld"`
+	HoldersWritten int `json:"holders_written"`
+	Missing        int `json:"missing"`
+	Eligible       int `json:"eligible"`
+	// WouldLetGo is the eligible references, oldest first, at most mostListed of them.
+	WouldLetGo []string `json:"would_let_go"`
+	NotListed  int      `json:"not_listed,omitempty"`
+	LetGo      []string `json:"let_go"`
+	Skipped    int      `json:"skipped"`
+	Left       int      `json:"left"`
+	Stopped    string   `json:"stopped,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// mostListed is how many references `collect` lists by name; the rest are counted.
+const mostListed = 1000
+
+// onDemand are the bounds of a sweep a person asks for: more than after a build, inside a module's
+// sixty-second ask (novox/hq ADR 0251).
+const (
+	collectMostDefault = 500
+	collectMostAtMost  = 5000
+	collectBudget      = 45 * time.Second
+)
+
+// causeCollect is the cause `collect` records when none is given.
+const causeCollect = "collect-on-demand"
+
+func collectCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
+	set := flag.NewFlagSet("collect", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	asJSON := set.Bool("json", false, "answer as JSON")
+	confirm := set.Bool("confirm", false, "let go of what is eligible, rather than only say what would go")
+	most := set.Int("most", collectMostDefault, "let go of at most this many")
+	f := addHandActFlags(set)
+	positionals, err := parseAround(set, args)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if len(positionals) != 0 {
+		return errors.New("collect [--json] [--confirm --why <text>] [--most <n>]")
+	}
+	if *confirm {
+		// A deletion a person asks for says why, before anything is asked of the store.
+		if err := f.require("collect"); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	if *most < 1 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("collect: --most is at least 1, not %d", *most)
+	}
+	bounds := sweepBounds{most: min(*most, collectMostAtMost), budget: collectBudget}
+
+	open, err := openStores(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer open.Close()
+	inv := open.inventory
+	references, err := inv.ToCollect(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	kept, err := inv.KeptArchives(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	address, err := artifactStoreAddress(ctx, inv, shelf, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if *confirm {
+		if strings.TrimSpace(*f.cause) == "" {
+			*f.cause = causeCollect
+		}
+		f.record(ctx, "collect", []string{"--most", fmt.Sprint(bounds.most)})
+	}
+	answer := runCollect(ctx, inv, artifacts.Store{Address: address}, references, kept, *confirm, bounds)
+	if *asJSON {
+		encoder := json.NewEncoder(os.Stdout)
+		encoder.SetIndent("", " ")
+		return encoder.Encode(answer)
+	}
+	printCollect(answer)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// runCollect is `collect` against a store: a dry run asks only HEADs, a real one is the sweep.
+func runCollect(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, store artifacts.Store, references, kept []string,
+	real bool, bounds sweepBounds) collectAnswer {
+	a := collectAnswer{DryRun: !real, Store: store.Address, KeptArchives: len(kept), Eligible: len(references),
+		WouldLetGo: []string{}, LetGo: []string{}}
+	listed := references
+	if len(listed) > mostListed {
+		listed, a.NotListed = listed[:mostListed], len(listed)-mostListed
+	}
+	a.WouldLetGo = append(a.WouldLetGo, listed...)
+	if store.Address == "" {
+		a.Stopped = "this mesh has no artifact store on its network: nothing was asked of it"
+		a.Left = len(references)
+		return a
+	}
+	if !real {
+		// Reads only: each kept archive asked about with HEADs, as `collection` does.
+		report := collectionReport{Unheld: []string{}, Missing: []string{}}
+		unasked, stopped := askHeld(ctx, store, kept, &report)
+		a.Held, a.Unheld, a.Missing = report.Held, len(report.Unheld), len(report.Missing)
+		if unasked > 0 {
+			a.Stopped = fmt.Sprintf("%d kept archive(s) not asked about: %s", unasked, stopped)
+		}
+		return a
+	}
+	r := sweep(ctx, inv, store, references, kept, bounds)
+	a.HoldersWritten, a.Missing, a.Skipped, a.Left, a.Stopped = r.HoldersWritten, r.Missing, r.Skipped, r.Left, r.Stopped
+	if r.Held {
+		a.Held = len(kept) - r.Missing
+	}
+	a.LetGo = append(a.LetGo, r.LetGo...)
+	return a
+}
+
+func printCollect(a collectAnswer) {
+	if a.DryRun {
+		fmt.Println("a dry run: nothing was held and nothing was let go (--confirm --why <text> to collect)")
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("artifact store       %s\n", storeOrNone(a.Store))
+	fmt.Printf("kept archives        %d (held %d, unheld %d, missing %d)\n", a.KeptArchives, a.Held, a.Unheld, a.Missing)
+	if a.HoldersWritten > 0 {
+		fmt.Printf("holders written      %d\n", a.HoldersWritten)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("eligible to let go   %d\n", a.Eligible)
+	if !a.DryRun {
+		fmt.Printf("let go               %d (skipped %d, left %d)\n", len(a.LetGo), a.Skipped, a.Left)
+	}
+	if a.Stopped != "" {
+		fmt.Printf("stopped: %s\n", a.Stopped)
+	}
+	for _, reference := range a.WouldLetGo {
+		fmt.Printf("  %s\n", reference)
+	}
+	if a.NotListed > 0 {
+		fmt.Printf("  … and %d more not listed\n", a.NotListed)
+	}
+}
+
+// declaredImage is one image a machine's declaration names.
+type declaredImage struct {
+	Image     string   `json:"image"`
+	Resources []string `json:"resources"`
+	// In says which declarations name it: "declaration" (what the mesh would send now), "sent" (what
+	// the machine was last sent).
+	In []string `json:"in"`
+}
+
+type imagesAnswer struct {
+	Node   string          `json:"node"`
+	Images []declaredImage `json:"images"`
+	// SentKnown is whether what the machine was last sent is kept with its images; false when it is
+	// not kept, or was kept before the images were.
+	SentKnown bool `json:"sent_known"`
+}
+
+// imagesOf is every container image of the declaration about to be sent and of the summary of the one
+// last sent.
+func imagesOf(node string, body []byte, sent []sentResource, sentKept bool) (imagesAnswer, error) {
+	a := imagesAnswer{Node: node, Images: []declaredImage{}, SentKnown: sentKept}
+	byImage := map[string]*declaredImage{}
+	add := func(image, resource, in string) {
+		if image == "" {
+			return
+		}
+		d := byImage[image]
+		if d == nil {
+			d = &declaredImage{Image: image}
+			byImage[image] = d
+		}
+		if !slices.Contains(d.Resources, resource) {
+			d.Resources = append(d.Resources, resource)
+		}
+		if !slices.Contains(d.In, in) {
+			d.In = append(d.In, in)
+		}
+	}
+	if body != nil {
+		var envelope struct {
+			Resources []map[string]any `json:"resources"`
+		}
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &envelope); err != nil {
+			return a, fmt.Errorf("a declaration that is not one: %w", err)
+		}
+		for _, r := range envelope.Resources {
+			if r["type"] != "container" {
+				continue
+			}
+			image, _ := r["image"].(string)
+			add(image, fmt.Sprint(r["id"]), "declaration")
+		}
+	}
+	for _, s := range sent {
+		if s.Type != "container" {
+			continue
+		}
+		if s.Image == "" {
+			// Kept before the summary carried images: what was sent cannot be said.
+			a.SentKnown = false
+			continue
+		}
+		add(s.Image, s.ID, "sent")
+	}
+	for _, d := range byImage {
+		sort.Strings(d.Resources)
+		a.Images = append(a.Images, *d)
+	}
+	sort.Slice(a.Images, func(i, j int) bool { return a.Images[i].Image < a.Images[j].Image })
+	return a, nil
+}
+
+func imagesCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
+	set := flag.NewFlagSet("images", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	asJSON := set.Bool("json", false, "answer as JSON")
+	positionals, err := parseAround(set, args)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if len(positionals) != 1 {
+		return errors.New("images <node> [--json]")
+	}
+	node := positionals[0]
+	open, err := openStores(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer open.Close()
+	if _, err := open.inventory.NodeByName(ctx, node); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", node, err)
+	}
+	// What the mesh would send now, composed as `plan` composes it.
+	var body []byte
+	plan, settings, err := planFor(ctx, open, node)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if len(plan.Modules) > 0 {
+		declared, err := declarationFor(ctx, open, node, plan, settings)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if body, err = declared.Body(); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	// And what it was last sent, as `plan --diff` compares against.
+	prev, err := open.inventory.SentSummary(ctx, node)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	var sent []sentResource
+	if len(prev) > 0 {
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(prev, &sent); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("%s: what it was last sent is kept in a form this version does not read: %w", node, err)
+		}
+	}
+	answer, err := imagesOf(node, body, sent, len(prev) > 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if *asJSON {
+		encoder := json.NewEncoder(os.Stdout)
+		encoder.SetIndent("", " ")
+		return encoder.Encode(answer)
+	}
+	for _, d := range answer.Images {
+		fmt.Printf("%s  (%s; %s)\n", d.Image, strings.Join(d.In, ", "), strings.Join(d.Resources, ", "))
+	}
+	if !answer.SentKnown {
+		fmt.Printf("%s: which images it was last sent is not kept — the next push keeps it\n", node)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/registry_verbs_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/registry_verbs_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f1d08cac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/registry_verbs_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,299 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"slices"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/artifacts"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// What the records say the registries may keep, asked on demand (novox/hq ADR 0251).
+
+func TestTheRegistryVerbsComposeTheirCommandsAndRefuseWhatTheyDoNotTake(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		verb string
+		args map[string]any
+		want string
+	}{
+		{"artifacts", map[string]any{}, "artifacts --json"},
+		{"artifacts", map[string]any{"repository": "web/app", "collected": "true"},
+			"artifacts --json --repository web/app --collected"},
+		{"artifacts", map[string]any{"collected": "false"}, "artifacts --json"},
+		{"collect", map[string]any{}, "collect --json"},
+		{"collect", map[string]any{"most": "50"}, "collect --json --most 50"},
+		{"collect", map[string]any{"confirm": "true", "why": "the disk is full"},
+			"collect --json --confirm --why the disk is full"},
+		{"collect", map[string]any{"confirm": true, "why": "x", "most": "10"}, "collect --json --most 10 --confirm --why x"},
+		{"images", map[string]any{"node": "anchor"}, "images anchor --json"},
+	} {
+		argv, err := argvFor(c.verb, c.args)
+		if err != nil || strings.Join(argv, " ") != c.want {
+			t.Errorf("%s %v: %q %v, want %q", c.verb, c.args, argv, err, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		verb string
+		args map[string]any
+	}{
+		{"collect", map[string]any{"confirm": "true"}},            // a deletion without a why
+		{"collect", map[string]any{"why": "tidy"}},                // a why for a dry run, recorded nowhere
+		{"collect", map[string]any{"confirm": "yes", "why": "x"}}, // a switch is true or false
+		{"collect", map[string]any{"force": "true"}},
+		{"artifacts", map[string]any{"node": "anchor"}},
+		{"images", map[string]any{}},
+		{"images", map[string]any{"node": "anchor", "all": "true"}},
+	} {
+		if argv, err := argvFor(c.verb, c.args); err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s %v was composed as %q", c.verb, c.args, argv)
+		}
+	}
+	if repairingCommand([]string{"collect", "--json", "--confirm", "--why", "x"}) != "collect" {
+		t.Error("a real collect through the generic verb would go unrecorded")
+	}
+	if repairingCommand([]string{"collect", "--json"}) != "" {
+		t.Error("a dry run was taken for an act by hand")
+	}
+	if !personsDecision(link.HandAct{Verb: "collect"}) {
+		t.Error("a collect a person asked for would count toward a healer the mesh lacks")
+	}
+}
+
+func ref(module, artifact string, n int) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/%s@sha256:%064x", catalogue.ArtifactStoreScheme, module, artifact, n)
+}
+
+func archiveRef(module, artifact string, n int) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/%s/blobs/sha256:%064x", catalogue.ArtifactStoreScheme, module, artifact, n)
+}
+
+func TestArtifactsCountsEverythingAndListsTheCollectedOnlyWhenAsked(t *testing.T) {
+	states := []inventory.ArtifactState{
+		{Reference: ref("web", "app", 1), State: inventory.ArtifactCollected},
+		{Reference: ref("web", "app", 2), State: inventory.ArtifactEligible},
+		{Reference: archiveRef("web", "tools", 3), State: inventory.ArtifactKept,
+			Why: []string{inventory.KeptByRecentBuild, inventory.KeptByDefinition}},
+		{Reference: ref("db", "server", 4), State: inventory.ArtifactKept, Why: []string{inventory.KeptByDefinition}},
+		// Not the mesh's own store: never listed, never counted.
+		{Reference: "registry.invalid/x@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64), State: inventory.ArtifactKept,
+			Why: []string{inventory.KeptUnaddressable}},
+	}
+	a := artifactsOf(states, "", false)
+	if a.Counts != (artifactCounts{Kept: 2, Eligible: 1, Collected: 1}) {
+		t.Errorf("counts %+v", a.Counts)
+	}
+	if len(a.References) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("listed %d, want the kept and the eligible: %+v", len(a.References), a.References)
+	}
+	archive := a.References[1]
+	if archive.Kind != "archive" || archive.Repository != "web/tools" || archive.Digest != fmt.Sprintf("sha256:%064x", 3) ||
+		!slices.Equal(archive.Why, []string{"recent-build", "definition"}) {
+		t.Errorf("an archive read as %+v", archive)
+	}
+	if image := a.References[0]; image.Kind != "image" || image.Repository != "web/app" || image.State != "eligible" {
+		t.Errorf("an image read as %+v", image)
+	}
+	narrowed := artifactsOf(states, "web/app", true)
+	if narrowed.Counts != a.Counts || len(narrowed.References) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("narrowed to one repository: %+v", narrowed)
+	}
+	raw, _ := json.Marshal(a.References[0])
+	if strings.Contains(string(raw), `"why"`) {
+		t.Errorf("an empty why is carried: %s", raw)
+	}
+}
+
+// fakeStore answers as a registry does for the sweep's questions, and records every request.
+type fakeStore struct {
+	mu       sync.Mutex
+	requests []string
+	refuse   string // a DELETE whose path contains this is refused
+}
+
+func (f *fakeStore) serve(t *testing.T) artifacts.Store {
+	t.Helper()
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		f.mu.Lock()
+		f.requests = append(f.requests, r.Method+" "+r.URL.Path)
+		refuse := f.refuse
+		f.mu.Unlock()
+		switch {
+		case r.Method == http.MethodHead && strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, "/blobs/"):
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Length", "10")
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		case r.Method == http.MethodHead:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+		case r.Method == http.MethodPost:
+			w.Header().Set("Location", "/upload/x?state=1")
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusAccepted)
+		case r.Method == http.MethodPut:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusCreated)
+		case r.Method == http.MethodDelete && refuse != "" && strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, refuse):
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		case r.Method == http.MethodDelete:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusAccepted)
+		default:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusBadRequest)
+		}
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(server.Close)
+	return artifacts.Store{Address: strings.TrimPrefix(server.URL, "http://")}
+}
+
+func (f *fakeStore) seen() []string {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	return slices.Clone(f.requests)
+}
+
+func TestADryRunCollectAsksOnlyAndChangesNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	f := &fakeStore{}
+	store := f.serve(t)
+	kept := []string{archiveRef("web", "tools", 1)}
+	eligible := []string{ref("web", "app", 2), archiveRef("web", "tools", 3)}
+	a := runCollect(context.Background(), nil, store, eligible, kept, false,
+		sweepBounds{most: 10, budget: 5 * time.Second})
+	if !a.DryRun || a.Eligible != 2 || !slices.Equal(a.WouldLetGo, eligible) || len(a.LetGo) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a dry run answered %+v", a)
+	}
+	if a.KeptArchives != 1 || a.Held != 0 || a.Unheld != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("the kept archive is unheld in the fake store, and was said as %+v", a)
+	}
+	for _, r := range f.seen() {
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(r, "HEAD ") {
+			t.Errorf("a dry run asked the store %s", r)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCollectSaysWhatItDoesNotListAndWithNoStoreAsksNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	var many []string
+	for i := range mostListed + 5 {
+		many = append(many, ref("web", "app", i))
+	}
+	a := runCollect(context.Background(), nil, artifacts.Store{}, many, nil, false, sweepBounds{most: 1, budget: time.Second})
+	if len(a.WouldLetGo) != mostListed || a.NotListed != 5 || a.Left != len(many) || a.Stopped == "" {
+		t.Errorf("with no store and %d eligible: %d listed, %d not, left %d, stopped %q",
+			len(many), len(a.WouldLetGo), a.NotListed, a.Left, a.Stopped)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestARealCollectHoldsEveryKeptArchiveBeforeItLetsAnythingGo(t *testing.T) {
+	inv := inventory.ForTest(t)
+	f := &fakeStore{}
+	store := f.serve(t)
+	kept := []string{archiveRef("web", "tools", 1)}
+	eligible := []string{ref("web", "app", 2), ref("web", "app", 3), ref("web", "app", 4)}
+	madeBy(t, inv, eligible)
+	a := runCollect(t.Context(), inv, store, eligible, kept, true, sweepBounds{most: 2, budget: 5 * time.Second})
+	if a.DryRun || a.HoldersWritten != 1 || a.Held != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("the kept archive was not held first: %+v", a)
+	}
+	if !slices.Equal(a.LetGo, eligible[:2]) || a.Left != 1 || a.Stopped == "" {
+		t.Errorf("bounded at two: let go %v, left %d, stopped %q", a.LetGo, a.Left, a.Stopped)
+	}
+	requests := f.seen()
+	firstPut := slices.IndexFunc(requests, func(r string) bool { return strings.HasPrefix(r, "PUT ") && strings.Contains(r, "/manifests/") })
+	firstDelete := slices.IndexFunc(requests, func(r string) bool { return strings.HasPrefix(r, "DELETE ") })
+	if firstPut < 0 || firstDelete < 0 || firstPut > firstDelete {
+		t.Errorf("the holder was not put before the first delete: %v", requests)
+	}
+	// What was let go is recorded collected: the sweep no longer offers it.
+	left, err := inv.ToCollect(t.Context())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !slices.Equal(left, eligible[2:]) {
+		t.Errorf("after letting go of two, the records offer %v", left)
+	}
+}
+
+// madeBy records one successful build, of a module the mesh does not hold, that made these images:
+// eligible, every one.
+func madeBy(t *testing.T, inv *inventory.Inventory, references []string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	b := inventory.Build{ID: "b1", Repository: "https://forge.invalid/web.git", Module: "web", On: "a-build-machine",
+		Commit: "c0ffee"}
+	for i, r := range references {
+		b.Made = append(b.Made, inventory.Artifact{Name: fmt.Sprintf("app%d", i), Kind: "image", Reference: r})
+	}
+	if err := inv.RecordBuild(t.Context(), b); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestARealCollectStopsAtTheStoresFirstRefusal(t *testing.T) {
+	inv := inventory.ForTest(t)
+	f := &fakeStore{refuse: fmt.Sprintf("%064x", 3)}
+	store := f.serve(t)
+	eligible := []string{ref("web", "app", 2), ref("web", "app", 3), ref("web", "app", 4)}
+	a := runCollect(t.Context(), inv, store, eligible, nil, true, sweepBounds{most: 10, budget: 5 * time.Second})
+	if !slices.Equal(a.LetGo, eligible[:1]) || a.Left != 2 || !strings.Contains(a.Stopped, "kept") {
+		t.Errorf("after a refusal: let go %v, left %d, stopped %q", a.LetGo, a.Left, a.Stopped)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestImagesAreEveryContainerImageOfTheDeclarationAndOfWhatWasSent(t *testing.T) {
+	body := []byte(`{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+		{"id":"web.server","type":"container","image":"store.invalid/web/server@sha256:aa"},
+		{"id":"web.collect","type":"container","image":"store.invalid/web/server@sha256:aa","schedule":"30 3 * * *"},
+		{"id":"db.server","type":"container","image":"postgres@sha256:bb"},
+		{"id":"web.bundle-tools","type":"archive","source":"http://store.invalid/v2/web/tools/blobs/sha256:cc"}]}`)
+	sent := []sentResource{
+		{ID: "web.server", Type: "container", Image: "store.invalid/web/server@sha256:99"},
+		{ID: "db.server", Type: "container", Image: "postgres@sha256:bb"},
+		{ID: "web.state", Type: "directory"},
+	}
+	a, err := imagesOf("anchor", body, sent, true)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !a.SentKnown || len(a.Images) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("answered %+v", a)
+	}
+	byImage := map[string]declaredImage{}
+	for _, d := range a.Images {
+		byImage[d.Image] = d
+	}
+	if d := byImage["store.invalid/web/server@sha256:aa"]; !slices.Equal(d.Resources, []string{"web.collect", "web.server"}) ||
+		!slices.Equal(d.In, []string{"declaration"}) {
+		t.Errorf("a scheduled step's image and its server's are one: %+v", d)
+	}
+	if d := byImage["store.invalid/web/server@sha256:99"]; !slices.Equal(d.In, []string{"sent"}) {
+		t.Errorf("the image last sent is kept beside the one to send: %+v", d)
+	}
+	if d := byImage["postgres@sha256:bb"]; !slices.Equal(d.In, []string{"declaration", "sent"}) {
+		t.Errorf("an image in both: %+v", d)
+	}
+
+	// A summary kept before it carried images cannot say what was sent.
+	old, err := imagesOf("anchor", body, []sentResource{{ID: "web.server", Type: "container"}}, true)
+	if err != nil || old.SentKnown {
+		t.Errorf("an old summary was read as knowing what was sent: %+v %v", old, err)
+	}
+	none, err := imagesOf("anchor", body, nil, false)
+	if err != nil || none.SentKnown || len(none.Images) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("with nothing sent yet: %+v %v", none, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTheSentSummaryKeepsAContainersImage(t *testing.T) {
+	summary, err := summarize([]byte(`{"resources":[{"id":"web.server","type":"container","image":"x@sha256:aa"},
+		{"id":"web.state","type":"directory","path":"/srv"}]}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if summary[0].Image != "x@sha256:aa" || summary[1].Image != "" {
+		t.Errorf("summarized as %+v", summary)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go
index 1eb0ccfa..d299a805 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go
@@ -573,6 +573,38 @@ func (a *verbArguments) commandLine() ([]string, error) {
 			return argv, nil
 		}
 		return []string{"cleanup", "list", "--json"}, nil
+	// novox/hq ADR 0251.
+	case "artifacts":
+		argv := []string{"artifacts", "--json"}
+		if r := str("repository"); r != "" {
+			argv = append(argv, "--repository", r)
+		}
+		if on("collected") {
+			argv = append(argv, "--collected")
+		}
+		return argv, nil
+	case "collect":
+		argv := []string{"collect", "--json"}
+		if m := str("most"); m != "" {
+			argv = append(argv, "--most", m)
+		}
+		why := str("why")
+		if !on("confirm") {
+			if why != "" {
+				return nil, errors.New("collect takes why only with confirm: without confirm it is a dry run, " +
+					"and a reason for nothing would be recorded nowhere. Nothing was done")
+			}
+			return argv, nil
+		}
+		if err := need("why"); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w: letting go of artifacts is a hand act, which says why. Nothing was done", err)
+		}
+		return append(argv, "--confirm", "--why", why), nil
+	case "images":
+		if err := need("node"); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		return []string{"images", str("node"), "--json"}, nil
 	case "data":
 		argv := []string{"data", "--json"}
 		if m := str("machine"); m != "" {
@@ -768,6 +800,8 @@ func (a *verbArguments) commandLine() ([]string, error) {
 // jsonVerbs are the verbs whose command speaks JSON, so the answer carries it as data as well.
 var jsonVerbs = map[string]bool{"status": true, "seats": true, "plan": true, "collection": true,
 	"hand-acts": true, "durations": true, "conditions": true, "doctor": true, "retire": true, "cleanup": true, "data": true,
+	// What the records say the registries may keep (novox/hq ADR 0251).
+	"artifacts": true, "collect": true, "images": true,
 	// The delivery's owner's verbs answer JSON where they read (plan, order, check, walks) — novox/hq ADR 0239.
 	"delivery": true}
 
@@ -791,6 +825,8 @@ func repairingCommand(argv []string) string {
 		return "retire " + argv[1]
 	case argv[0] == "cleanup" && len(argv) > 1 && argv[1] == "delete":
 		return "cleanup delete"
+	case argv[0] == "collect" && slices.Contains(argv, "--confirm"):
+		return "collect"
 	}
 	return ""
 }
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs_schema_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs_schema_test.go
index b0f2243e..e9a3cf4b 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs_schema_test.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs_schema_test.go
@@ -281,6 +281,9 @@ var accountedFlags = map[string]map[string]string{
 	"retire":             {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
 	"cleanup":            {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
 	"data":               {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
+	"artifacts":          {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
+	"collect":            {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
+	"images":             {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
 	"conditions history": {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
 	"conditions show":    {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
 	"healers":            {"json": "set by the verb: the answer is data"},
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/unseen.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/unseen.go
index 543a96e6..1ed42bcd 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/unseen.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/unseen.go
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ type sentResource struct {
 	// Volumes is a container's mounts as sent — paths, which are not secrets, and what a moved
 	// data directory is read from.
 	Volumes []string `json:"volumes,omitempty"`
+	// Image is a container's image as sent — a reference, not a secret — so the machine can be told
+	// which images its last declaration named, and keep them (novox/hq ADR 0251, `images`). Absent in
+	// a summary kept before it was.
+	Image string `json:"image,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // summarize is what is kept of a declaration body: its resources, in the order sent.
@@ -105,6 +109,9 @@ func summarize(body []byte) ([]sentResource, error) {
 			s.Fields[k] = digestValue(v)
 		}
 		if s.Type == "container" {
+			if image, ok := r["image"].(string); ok {
+				s.Image = image
+			}
 			if vols, ok := r["volumes"].([]any); ok {
 				for _, v := range vols {
 					s.Volumes = append(s.Volumes, fmt.Sprint(v))
diff --git a/internal/catalogue/verbs.go b/internal/catalogue/verbs.go
index a6601ff6..1e637ace 100644
--- a/internal/catalogue/verbs.go
+++ b/internal/catalogue/verbs.go
@@ -435,6 +435,34 @@ var ControllerVerbs = []Verb{
 			"behind": "\"true\", instead of a repository: build every module the mesh holds whose source has moved " +
 				"past the commit it was built from, bases asked first",
 		}, nil, "behind")},
+	// What the records say the registries may keep, asked on demand (novox/hq ADR 0251, to-be 51).
+	{Name: "artifacts", Description: "Every artifact the mesh recorded making that lives in its artifact store, " +
+		"each with its repository, digest, kind (image or archive) and state: kept — and why: a definition names " +
+		"it, or one of the five most recent builds of a module the mesh holds — or eligible: made, kept for no " +
+		"reason, not yet let go. Collected ones are counted, and listed only with collected. Reads only " +
+		"(novox/hq ADR 0251).",
+		Input: schema(map[string]string{
+			"repository": "only this repository's references, as <module>/<artifact> (the counts stay whole)",
+			"collected":  "\"true\": list the collected references too (they only grow; counted always)",
+		}, nil, "collected")},
+	{Name: "collect", Description: "The artifact store's sweep, now: what the mesh made and keeps for no reason " +
+		"is let go of. Without confirm a dry run — every kept archive asked about with HEADs, what would be let go " +
+		"listed, nothing held or deleted. With confirm and why: every kept archive held first, then each eligible " +
+		"artifact let go of, oldest first, and recorded collected — a hand act, recorded with its why. Bounded by " +
+		"most (500 by default, at most 5000) and 45 seconds; what is left is said. Bytes are reclaimed by the " +
+		"store's nightly collector. Never touches a digest the mesh did not record (novox/hq ADR 0189, ADR 0251).",
+		Input: schema(map[string]string{
+			"confirm": "\"true\": let go of what is eligible (needs why); without it nothing is done",
+			"why":     "with confirm: why — required, and recorded in the hand-act log",
+			"most":    "let go of at most this many (500 by default, at most 5000)",
+		}, nil, "confirm")},
+	{Name: "images", Description: "Every container image one machine's declaration names — the declaration the " +
+		"mesh would send it now and the one it was last sent — each with the resources naming it: what the " +
+		"machine keeps when it prunes its images. sent_known is false when the last one sent is not kept with " +
+		"its images. Reads only (novox/hq ADR 0251).",
+		Input: schema(map[string]string{
+			"node": "the machine's name",
+		}, []string{"node"})},
 }
 
 // schema is a JSON schema for an object of string properties, which is every argument the verbs
diff --git a/internal/inventory/artifacts_test.go b/internal/inventory/artifacts_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5deef9cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/inventory/artifacts_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+package inventory
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+)
+
+// **Every artifact made has one state, and a kept one says why** (novox/hq ADR 0251): what the
+// store's own tools set beside what the store holds, so an operator reads why something stays.
+func TestEveryArtifactMadeHasAStateAndAKeptOneSaysWhy(t *testing.T) {
+	inv := fresh(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	var made []string
+	for i := 1; i <= 8; i++ {
+		made = append(made, built(t, inv, fmt.Sprintf("b%02d", i), "web", i))
+	}
+	// The definition names the oldest and the newest: the newest is kept for both reasons.
+	m := catalogue.Manifest{Module: "web", Version: "1", Resources: []map[string]any{
+		{"id": "app", "type": "container", "name": "web", "image": made[0]},
+		{"id": "next", "type": "container", "name": "web-next", "image": made[7]},
+	}}
+	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, m, Source{Repository: "https://forge.invalid/web.git"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := inv.MarkCollected(ctx, []string{made[1]}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	states, err := inv.Artifacts(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(states) != len(made) {
+		t.Fatalf("%d states for %d artifacts made", len(states), len(made))
+	}
+	want := []struct {
+		state string
+		why   []string
+	}{
+		{ArtifactKept, []string{KeptByDefinition}},
+		{ArtifactCollected, nil},
+		{ArtifactEligible, nil},
+		{ArtifactKept, []string{KeptByRecentBuild}},
+		{ArtifactKept, []string{KeptByRecentBuild}},
+		{ArtifactKept, []string{KeptByRecentBuild}},
+		{ArtifactKept, []string{KeptByRecentBuild}},
+		{ArtifactKept, []string{KeptByRecentBuild, KeptByDefinition}},
+	}
+	for i, s := range states {
+		if s.Reference != made[i] {
+			t.Fatalf("state %d is of %s, want %s: the oldest first", i, s.Reference, made[i])
+		}
+		if s.State != want[i].state || fmt.Sprint(s.Why) != fmt.Sprint(want[i].why) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %s %v, want %s %v", s.Reference, s.State, s.Why, want[i].state, want[i].why)
+		}
+	}
+	collect, err := inv.ToCollect(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(collect) != 1 || collect[0] != made[2] {
+		t.Errorf("ToCollect is %v, want only the eligible %s", collect, made[2])
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/inventory/collection.go b/internal/inventory/collection.go
index 684287ab..5931da42 100644
--- a/internal/inventory/collection.go
+++ b/internal/inventory/collection.go
@@ -27,7 +27,39 @@ import (
 // release that turns out wrong can be taken.
 const KeptBuilds = 5
 
-// ToCollect is every artifact the mesh made, no longer keeps, and has not already collected.
+// Why an artifact is kept: the words `artifacts` answers (novox/hq ADR 0251).
+const (
+	// KeptByDefinition: a definition the mesh holds names it, so it could be handed to a machine now.
+	KeptByDefinition = "definition"
+	// KeptByRecentBuild: it is an artifact of one of the KeptBuilds most recent successful builds of a
+	// module the mesh still holds — somewhere a release that turns out wrong can go back to.
+	KeptByRecentBuild = "recent-build"
+	// KeptUnaddressable: it names no digest, so nothing here can speak for it, and it is kept rather
+	// than guessed about.
+	KeptUnaddressable = "unaddressable"
+)
+
+// The states an artifact the mesh recorded making is in (novox/hq ADR 0251).
+const (
+	ArtifactKept      = "kept"
+	ArtifactEligible  = "eligible"
+	ArtifactCollected = "collected"
+)
+
+// ArtifactState is one artifact the mesh recorded making, and what the records say of it now.
+type ArtifactState struct {
+	Reference string
+	State     string
+	// Why is the reasons a kept artifact is kept; empty for any other.
+	Why []string
+}
+
+// Artifacts is every artifact any successful build recorded, oldest first, each with its state:
+// kept (and why), eligible to let go, or already collected (novox/hq ADR 0189, ADR 0251).
+//
+// **One reading of the records for every question asked of them**: the sweep's ToCollect, the
+// operator's `artifacts` and the store's own tools read the same states, so what one says may go is
+// what the others say is eligible.
 //
 // Three reasons an artifact stays, and nothing else is a reason:
 //
@@ -38,57 +70,62 @@ const KeptBuilds = 5
 //     nothing beyond what a held definition names (novox/hq issue 253);
 //   - it was already collected, in which case there is nothing left to do.
 //
-// Returned in a stated order so two runs over the same records ask for the same things in the
-// same sequence, which is what makes a failed sweep safe to simply run again.
-func (i *Inventory) ToCollect(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
-	keep, err := i.keptReferences(ctx)
+// In a stated order, so two runs over the same records ask for the same things in the same
+// sequence, which is what makes a failed sweep safe to simply run again.
+func (i *Inventory) Artifacts(ctx context.Context) ([]ArtifactState, error) {
+	keep, err := i.KeepSet(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	rows, err := i.store.Pool().Query(ctx,
-		// Every artifact of every successful build, oldest first, minus what has already been
-		// collected. A failed build published nothing, so it names nothing to remove.
-		`select b.made
-		   from build b
-		  where b.failed = '' and b.module is not null and b.module <> ''
-		  order by b.at asc, b.id asc`)
+	all, err := i.everyReferenceMade(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	defer rows.Close()
-
 	collected, err := i.alreadyCollected(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	seen := map[string]bool{}
-	var out []string
-	for rows.Next() {
-		var raw []byte
-		if err := rows.Scan(&raw); err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		var made []Artifact
-		if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &made); err != nil {
-			// One unreadable record must not stop the rest being collected — and an artifact this
-			// row named is simply not offered, which errs toward keeping.
-			continue
-		}
-		for _, a := range made {
-			reference := asRecorded(a.Reference)
-			if reference == "" || keep[reference] || collected[reference] || seen[reference] {
-				continue
-			}
-			seen[reference] = true
-			out = append(out, reference)
+	out := make([]ArtifactState, 0, len(all))
+	for _, reference := range all {
+		switch {
+		case len(keep[reference]) > 0:
+			out = append(out, ArtifactState{Reference: reference, State: ArtifactKept, Why: keep[reference]})
+		case collected[reference]:
+			out = append(out, ArtifactState{Reference: reference, State: ArtifactCollected})
+		default:
+			out = append(out, ArtifactState{Reference: reference, State: ArtifactEligible})
 		}
 	}
-	return out, rows.Err()
+	return out, nil
 }
 
-// keptReferences is every artifact reference the mesh still keeps, for either of the two reasons.
-func (i *Inventory) keptReferences(ctx context.Context) (map[string]bool, error) {
-	keep := map[string]bool{}
+// ToCollect is every artifact the mesh made, no longer keeps, and has not already collected —
+// oldest first (Artifacts says why each other one stays).
+func (i *Inventory) ToCollect(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
+	states, err := i.Artifacts(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var out []string
+	for _, s := range states {
+		if s.State == ArtifactEligible {
+			out = append(out, s.Reference)
+		}
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// KeepSet is every artifact reference the mesh still keeps, each with the reasons it is kept.
+func (i *Inventory) KeepSet(ctx context.Context) (map[string][]string, error) {
+	keep := map[string][]string{}
+	because := func(reference, why string) {
+		for _, w := range keep[reference] {
+			if w == why {
+				return
+			}
+		}
+		keep[reference] = append(keep[reference], why)
+	}
 
 	// **Whatever a definition the mesh holds names.** Read as text rather than by walking the
 	// resource shapes: a reference may be a container's image, a bundle's source, or a field some
@@ -140,7 +177,7 @@ func (i *Inventory) keptReferences(ctx context.Context) (map[string]bool, error)
 		}
 		for _, a := range made {
 			if reference := asRecorded(a.Reference); reference != "" {
-				keep[reference] = true
+				because(reference, KeptByRecentBuild)
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -148,28 +185,28 @@ func (i *Inventory) keptReferences(ctx context.Context) (map[string]bool, error)
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	// And anything a manifest mentions. Done after the recent set so the scan runs over the
-	// candidates rather than over every reference ever recorded: a manifest holds a reference
-	// composed with the store's address or kept bare, so the search is for the digest within it.
+	// And anything a manifest mentions — every reference ever made, the recent ones included, so a
+	// kept artifact carries each of its reasons and the operator reads why, not only that (novox/hq
+	// ADR 0251). A manifest holds a reference composed with the store's address or kept bare, so the
+	// search is for the digest within it.
 	if len(named) > 0 {
 		all, err := i.everyReferenceMade(ctx)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 		for _, reference := range all {
-			if keep[reference] {
-				continue
-			}
 			digest := digestIn(reference)
 			if digest == "" {
 				// Not something the store holds by digest; nothing here can speak for it, so it
 				// is kept rather than guessed about.
-				keep[reference] = true
+				if len(keep[reference]) == 0 {
+					because(reference, KeptUnaddressable)
+				}
 				continue
 			}
 			for _, text := range named {
 				if strings.Contains(text, digest) {
-					keep[reference] = true
+					because(reference, KeptByDefinition)
 					break
 				}
 			}
@@ -186,7 +223,7 @@ func (i *Inventory) keptReferences(ctx context.Context) (map[string]bool, error)
 // reference that is kept because nothing here can speak for it is not one the store can be asked
 // about.
 func (i *Inventory) KeptArchives(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
-	keep, err := i.keptReferences(ctx)
+	keep, err := i.KeepSet(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -200,10 +237,11 @@ func (i *Inventory) KeptArchives(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
 	return out, nil
 }
 
-// everyReferenceMade is every artifact reference any successful build recorded.
+// everyReferenceMade is every artifact reference any successful build recorded, oldest build first.
 func (i *Inventory) everyReferenceMade(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
 	rows, err := i.store.Pool().Query(ctx,
-		`select made from build where failed = '' and module is not null and module <> ''`)
+		`select made from build where failed = '' and module is not null and module <> ''
+		  order by at asc, id asc`)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/module.json b/module.json
index 0ee497d0..b61e333f 100644
--- a/module.json
+++ b/module.json
@@ -72,7 +72,10 @@
     "retire",
     "cleanup",
     "data",
-    "build"
+    "build",
+    "artifacts",
+    "collect",
+    "images"
   ],
   "resources": [
     {