diff --git a/internal/catalogue/graphical_session.go b/internal/catalogue/graphical_session.go
index 43663e87..bbccbfb7 100644
--- a/internal/catalogue/graphical_session.go
+++ b/internal/catalogue/graphical_session.go
@@ -129,6 +129,23 @@ var barShows = map[string]map[string]barOption{
 	"battery": {"device": {kind: "text"}},
 	// One line a command prints, run every interval seconds: what the bar cannot know itself.
 	"command": {"command": {kind: "text", required: true}, "interval": {kind: "seconds", required: true}},
+	// A value the contributor keeps on the bus (novox/hq ADR 0255): its state `<module>.<name>` and the
+	// key, this machine's name when absent. The value is an object whose `text` is what is shown. The
+	// holder is granted to read it and shows it however its bar shows a changing value; no file and
+	// no command passes between the two modules.
+	"state": {"state": {kind: "text", required: true}, "key": {kind: "text"}},
+}
+
+// barBlockReads is the state a block shows, if any.
+func barBlockReads(data map[string]any) []string {
+	if data["shows"] != "state" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	options, _ := data["options"].(map[string]any)
+	if s, ok := options["state"].(string); ok && s != "" {
+		return []string{s}
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 type barOption struct {
@@ -150,11 +167,15 @@ func barBlockShape() *Shape {
 			{Field: "place", Values: []string{"resources", "status"}}},
 		Order: "order",
 		Check: barBlockProblems,
+		Reads: barBlockReads,
 		Examples: []map[string]any{
 			{"bar": "bottom", "place": "status", "shows": "battery"},
 			{"bar": "bottom", "place": "status", "shows": "battery", "options": map[string]any{"device": "BAT0"}},
 			{"bar": "bottom", "place": "status", "shows": "command",
 				"options": map[string]any{"command": "echo \"a line\"", "interval": float64(5)}},
+			{"bar": "bottom", "place": "status", "shows": "state", "options": map[string]any{"state": "power.draw"}},
+			{"bar": "bottom", "place": "status", "shows": "state",
+				"options": map[string]any{"state": "power.draw", "key": "a-machine"}},
 		},
 	}
 }
diff --git a/internal/catalogue/seat_contributions.go b/internal/catalogue/seat_contributions.go
index 9a408bc5..594e4de8 100644
--- a/internal/catalogue/seat_contributions.go
+++ b/internal/catalogue/seat_contributions.go
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ func (m Manifest) seatContributionProblems() []string {
 		switch {
 		case ok && r.Shape != nil:
 			problems = append(problems, shapedProblems(m.Module, i, r, c)...)
+			problems = append(problems, ownStateProblems(m, i, r, c)...)
 		case len(c.Data) > 0:
 			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf("%s's contribution %d has data; %s receives %s as text, "+
 				"given as `content`", m.Module, i+1, s.Name, c.Kind))
@@ -208,7 +209,7 @@ func seatContributions(modules []Manifest, holder Manifest, placeholder string,
 		if err != nil {
 			return "", nil, err
 		}
-		return shapedContributions(modules, holder, s, r, where, caps)
+		return shapedContributions(modules, holder, facts["name"], s, r, where, caps)
 	}
 	var failed error
 	var b strings.Builder
diff --git a/internal/catalogue/seat_data.go b/internal/catalogue/seat_data.go
index 4b09b751..e09c77ce 100644
--- a/internal/catalogue/seat_data.go
+++ b/internal/catalogue/seat_data.go
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ type Shape struct {
 	// Examples are pieces every holder's template must render, one for each variant the shape has,
 	// so a holder that cannot render one is refused at registration and not found on a machine.
 	Examples []map[string]any
+	// Reads is the state on the bus a piece shows, as `<module>.<name>`, or nothing (novox/hq ADR
+	// 0255): a contributor offers only state it keeps itself, and the holder on the same machine is
+	// granted to read it, so the holder's manifest names no contributor.
+	Reads func(data map[string]any) []string `json:"-"`
 }
 
 // PlaceField is one field a holder places by, and the values it takes.
@@ -105,6 +109,62 @@ func shapedProblems(module string, i int, r Receivable, c SeatContribution) []st
 	return problems
 }
 
+// ownStateProblems is a data contribution showing state its module does not keep (novox/hq ADR 0255):
+// a module offers the holder its own state and nobody else's, so what it publishes stays its own.
+func ownStateProblems(m Manifest, i int, r Receivable, c SeatContribution) []string {
+	if r.Shape == nil || r.Shape.Reads == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	keeps := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, s := range m.State {
+		keeps[s.Name] = true
+	}
+	var problems []string
+	for _, read := range r.Shape.Reads(c.Data) {
+		module, local, err := ReadState(read)
+		switch {
+		case err != nil:
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf("%s's contribution %d shows state %v", m.Module, i+1, err))
+		case module != m.Module || !keeps[local]:
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf("%s's contribution %d shows the state %s, which %s does not keep; a "+
+				"module offers its own state only (novox/hq ADR 0255)", m.Module, i+1, read, m.Module))
+		}
+	}
+	return problems
+}
+
+// ReadsGranted is the state a holder reads because modules on its machine offer it in pieces of a
+// kind its seat receives as data (novox/hq ADR 0255), sorted and once each. The bus grants the holder
+// these beside its own `reads`: the holder names no contributor, and reads only what is offered to it
+// on the machine it runs on.
+func ReadsGranted(holder Manifest, onMachine []Manifest) []string {
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, claim := range holder.Claims {
+		s, known := SeatNamed(claim.Name)
+		if !known {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, r := range s.Receives {
+			if r.Shape == nil || r.Shape.Reads == nil {
+				continue
+			}
+			for _, m := range onMachine {
+				for _, c := range m.allContributions() {
+					if cs, ok := SeatNamed(c.Seat); !ok || cs.Name != s.Name || c.Kind != r.Kind {
+						continue
+					}
+					for _, read := range r.Shape.Reads(c.Data) {
+						if module, _, err := ReadState(read); err == nil && module == m.Module && module != holder.Module {
+							seen[read] = true
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return sortedKeys(seen)
+}
+
 // wholeIn is v as a whole number within [lo, hi]; JSON gives every number as a float.
 func wholeIn(v any, lo, hi int) (int, bool) {
 	f, ok := v.(float64)
@@ -178,11 +238,11 @@ func holderTemplate(holder Manifest, seat Seat, kind string) (*template.Template
 		"(novox/hq ADR 0255)", holder.Module, seat.Name, kind)
 }
 
-// renderPiece is one piece of data in the holder's grammar. The template sees the piece's fields and
-// `module`, the contributor. A value the piece does not have reads as nothing in a `with` or an `if`;
+// renderPiece is one piece of data in the holder's grammar. The template sees the piece's fields,
+// `module`, the contributor, and `machine`, the node it is composed for. A value the piece does not have reads as nothing in a `with` or an `if`;
 // printed bare it would write `<no value>` into the tool's file, which is refused here instead.
-func renderPiece(t *template.Template, module string, data map[string]any) (string, error) {
-	view := map[string]any{"module": module}
+func renderPiece(t *template.Template, module, machine string, data map[string]any) (string, error) {
+	view := map[string]any{"module": module, "machine": machine}
 	for k, v := range data {
 		view[k] = v
 	}
@@ -211,7 +271,7 @@ type placedPiece struct {
 // A piece the template renders to nothing — a `shows` the holder does not know yet — or fails on is
 // left out and answered as unplaced, naming its module: the other pieces and the rest of the machine's
 // declaration go on (novox/hq ADR 0255).
-func shapedContributions(modules []Manifest, holder Manifest, s Seat, r Receivable, where map[string]string, caps map[string]bool) (string, []string, error) {
+func shapedContributions(modules []Manifest, holder Manifest, machine string, s Seat, r Receivable, where map[string]string, caps map[string]bool) (string, []string, error) {
 	var pieces []placedPiece
 	for _, m := range inModuleOrder(modules) {
 		for _, c := range m.allContributions() {
@@ -248,7 +308,7 @@ func shapedContributions(modules []Manifest, holder Manifest, s Seat, r Receivab
 	var b strings.Builder
 	var unplaced []string
 	for _, p := range pieces {
-		out, err := renderPiece(t, p.module, p.data)
+		out, err := renderPiece(t, p.module, machine, p.data)
 		if err == nil && strings.TrimSpace(out) == "" {
 			err = fmt.Errorf("%s's template renders nothing for it", holder.Module)
 		}
@@ -309,7 +369,7 @@ func (m Manifest) placementProblems() []string {
 				continue
 			}
 			for _, ex := range r.Shape.Examples {
-				if out, err := renderPiece(t, "example", ex); err != nil || strings.TrimSpace(out) == "" {
+				if out, err := renderPiece(t, "example", "machine", ex); err != nil || strings.TrimSpace(out) == "" {
 					problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf("%s's template for %s:%s renders nothing for %v: %v",
 						m.Module, s.Name, r.Kind, ex, err))
 				}
diff --git a/internal/catalogue/seat_data_test.go b/internal/catalogue/seat_data_test.go
index a67186e8..a154ff90 100644
--- a/internal/catalogue/seat_data_test.go
+++ b/internal/catalogue/seat_data_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ block = "battery"
 block = "custom"
 command = {{quote .options.command}}
 interval = {{.options.interval}}
+{{else if eq .shows "state"}}[[block]]
+block = "custom"
+command = {{quote (printf "show %s %s" .options.state (or .options.key .machine))}}
 {{end}}`
 
 func barHolder() Manifest {
@@ -165,7 +168,7 @@ func TestTheCataloguesBarRendersEveryExampleOfTheShape(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	for _, ex := range s.Receives[0].Shape.Examples {
-		out, err := renderPiece(tmpl, "example", ex)
+		out, err := renderPiece(tmpl, "example", "a-machine", ex)
 		if err != nil || !strings.Contains(out, "[[block]]") {
 			t.Errorf("the catalogue's bar renders %v as %q: %v", ex, out, err)
 		}
@@ -352,3 +355,41 @@ func TestTheBarReceivesBlocksAsData(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestAStateBlockIsRenderedForThisMachineAndTheHolderIsGrantedToReadIt(t *testing.T) {
+	power := Manifest{Module: "power", State: []StateDeclaration{{Name: "draw"}}, Contributions: []SeatContribution{
+		block(`{"bar":"bottom","place":"status","shows":"state","options":{"state":"power.draw"}}`),
+	}}
+	r := Resolution{Node: "laptop", Account: "op", Modules: []Manifest{barHolder(), power}}
+	if bar := composedFile(t, r, "a-bar.bottom"); !strings.Contains(bar, `command = "show power.draw laptop"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("the block does not read this machine's key:\n%s", bar)
+	}
+	if got := ReadsGranted(barHolder(), []Manifest{barHolder(), power}); len(got) != 1 || got[0] != "power.draw" {
+		t.Fatalf("the holder is granted %v", got)
+	}
+	// Only the holder, and only for what the modules on its machine offer.
+	if got := ReadsGranted(power, []Manifest{barHolder(), power}); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a contributor is granted %v", got)
+	}
+	if got := ReadsGranted(barHolder(), []Manifest{barHolder()}); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a holder alone is granted %v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAModuleOffersItsOwnStateOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	block := `{"seat":"node-bar","kind":"block","data":{"bar":"bottom","place":"status","shows":"state","options":{"state":"%s"}}}`
+	cases := map[string]string{
+		`{"module":"power","state":["draw"],"contributions":[` + fmt.Sprintf(block, "other.draw") + `]}`: "which power does not keep",
+		`{"module":"power","contributions":[` + fmt.Sprintf(block, "power.draw") + `]}`:                  "which power does not keep",
+		`{"module":"power","state":["draw"],"contributions":[` + fmt.Sprintf(block, "draw") + `]}`:       "does not name a module",
+	}
+	for raw, want := range cases {
+		if _, err := ParseManifest([]byte(raw)); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), want) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: accepted, or refused without %q: %v", raw, want, err)
+		}
+	}
+	ok := `{"module":"power","state":["draw"],"contributions":[` + fmt.Sprintf(block, "power.draw") + `]}`
+	if _, err := ParseManifest([]byte(ok)); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("its own state was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/inventory/busrecords.go b/internal/inventory/busrecords.go
index 8311527d..de46f7f6 100644
--- a/internal/inventory/busrecords.go
+++ b/internal/inventory/busrecords.go
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ func (i *Inventory) BusRecords(ctx context.Context) (broker.Records, error) {
 						"be derived", module, n.Name)
 			}
 			d := declaredFor(m, seats)
+			// And the state offered to it as a seat's holder by the modules beside it (novox/hq ADR 0255).
+			if granted := catalogue.ReadsGranted(m, onMachine(declared, modules)); len(granted) > 0 {
+				d.Reads = append(append([]string(nil), d.Reads...), granted...)
+			}
 			d.Holds = heldHere(d.Holds, holdings, n.Name, module)
 			out.Assigned[n.Name] = append(out.Assigned[n.Name], d)
 			if m.Instances == catalogue.InstancesInterchangeable {
@@ -103,6 +107,17 @@ func (i *Inventory) BusRecords(ctx context.Context) (broker.Records, error) {
 	return out, nil
 }
 
+// onMachine is the manifests of the modules assigned to one machine that the catalogue knows.
+func onMachine(declared map[string]catalogue.Manifest, modules []string) []catalogue.Manifest {
+	var out []catalogue.Manifest
+	for _, module := range modules {
+		if m, known := declared[module]; known {
+			out = append(out, m)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 // declaredFor is one module's manifest as the composer needs it: what it says about itself, and the
 // protocol of every seat it holds or uses.
 func declaredFor(m catalogue.Manifest, seats map[string]catalogue.SeatDeclaration) broker.Declared {
diff --git a/internal/inventory/busrecords_test.go b/internal/inventory/busrecords_test.go
index 3cafa961..b0f2a5d0 100644
--- a/internal/inventory/busrecords_test.go
+++ b/internal/inventory/busrecords_test.go
@@ -296,3 +296,48 @@ func TestTheBussOwnModuleBecomesTheSnapshotUser(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("users derived: %v", seen)
 	}
 }
+
+// The bar's holder reads the state the modules beside it offer in its blocks (novox/hq ADR 0255),
+// without naming them: granted on the machine where both are, and nowhere else.
+func TestABarIsGrantedTheStateItsMachinesModulesOfferIt(t *testing.T) {
+	bar := catalogue.Manifest{Module: "a-bar", Version: "1",
+		Claims: []catalogue.Claim{{Name: catalogue.BarSeat, Scope: catalogue.ScopeNode}}}
+	power := catalogue.Manifest{Module: "power", Version: "1",
+		State: []catalogue.StateDeclaration{{Name: "draw"}},
+		Contributions: []catalogue.SeatContribution{{Seat: catalogue.BarSeat, Kind: catalogue.BarKindBlock,
+			Data: map[string]any{"bar": "bottom", "place": "status", "shows": "state",
+				"options": map[string]any{"state": "power.draw"}}}}}
+	inv, ctx := aMeshWith(t, bar, power)
+	for node, modules := range map[string][]string{"laptop": {"a-bar", "power"}, "desk": {"a-bar"}} {
+		if _, err := inv.AddNode(ctx, node); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		for _, module := range modules {
+			if _, err := inv.Assign(ctx, node, module); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	records, err := inv.BusRecords(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	reads := func(node, module string) []string {
+		for _, d := range records.Assigned[node] {
+			if d.Module == module {
+				return d.Reads
+			}
+		}
+		t.Fatalf("%s is not on %s", module, node)
+		return nil
+	}
+	if got := reads("laptop", "a-bar"); len(got) != 1 || got[0] != "power.draw" {
+		t.Fatalf("the laptop's bar reads %v", got)
+	}
+	if got := reads("desk", "a-bar"); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a bar with no power beside it reads %v", got)
+	}
+	if got := reads("laptop", "power"); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("power reads %v", got)
+	}
+}