diff --git a/.custodian-brief.md b/.custodian-brief.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e5eb88a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.custodian-brief.md
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+<!-- custodian-brief: generated by fix-consistency — do not edit manually -->
+# Custodian Brief — reef-railiance
+
+**Domain:** financials  
+**Last synced:** 2026-07-26 00:41 UTC  
+**State Hub:** http://127.0.0.1:8000 *(adjust if running on a remote machine)*
+
+## Active Workstreams
+
+### Bootstrap reef-railiance and import the wave-1 grouped substrate surface
+Progress: 2/4 done  |  workplan_id: `da64c718-68bf-4719-aa42-fcf26687ab23`
+
+**Open tasks:**
+- ! T03 - Prepare the retained S1 handoff from `railiance-infra`  `c6365200`
+- ! T04 - Register `reef-railiance` in State Hub and Fabric  `21b7e7e9`
+
+---
+## MCP Orientation (when available)
+
+If the state-hub MCP server is reachable, call:
+`get_domain_summary("financials")`
+This provides richer cross-domain context.
+If the MCP call fails, use this file as your orientation source.