diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 2900913f..87129c7d 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1663,6 +1663,10 @@ dependencies = [
  "prometeu-vm",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "prometeu-quality-checks"
+version = "0.1.0"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "prometeu-system"
 version = "0.1.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index e3116a38..b3c850e5 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ members = [
   "crates/tools/prometeu-cli",
   "crates/dev/prometeu-test-support",
   "crates/dev/prometeu-layer-tests",
+  "crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks",
 ]
 resolver = "2"
 
diff --git a/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/Cargo.toml b/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bc0bf5b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+[package]
+name = "prometeu-quality-checks"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+publish = false
+
+[dev-dependencies]
diff --git a/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/src/lib.rs b/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..680a3dad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+// Intentionally empty: this crate only hosts integration tests under `tests/`.
diff --git a/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/tests/no_legacy.rs b/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/tests/no_legacy.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1f8f0d8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/dev/prometeu-quality-checks/tests/no_legacy.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,341 @@
+use std::collections::BTreeSet;
+use std::fs;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+
+// Denylist per User's canonical rules
+const FORBIDDEN_IDENT_TOKENS: &[&str] = &[
+    // HIP must be fully removed from code
+    "hip",
+    "HIP",
+
+    // Legacy RC API surface (exact token only)
+    "release",
+    "Release",
+
+    // Legacy scope helpers (exact tokens only)
+    "enter_scope",
+    "exit_scope",
+    "scope_frame",
+    "scope_stack",
+    "rc_scope",
+    "hip_scope",
+    "borrow_scope",
+    "mutate_scope",
+    "peek_scope",
+
+    // Legacy handle/gate/retain-release naming that is almost certainly RC/HIP-related
+    "GateHandle",
+    "gate_handle",
+    "HandlePool",
+    "handle_pool",
+    "retain_release",
+    "retainHandle",
+    "releaseHandle",
+];
+
+const FORBIDDEN_PATH_SEGMENTS: &[&str] = &[
+    "hip",
+    "refcount",
+    "ref_count",
+    "retain_release",
+    "gate_pool",
+    "handle_pool",
+    "scope_stack",
+    "borrow_scope",
+    "mutate_scope",
+    "peek_scope",
+];
+
+#[test]
+fn test_no_legacy_artifacts() {
+    let workspace_root = find_workspace_root().expect("Failed to locate workspace root with [workspace] Cargo.toml");
+
+    // Collect Rust files under crates/**/src/**/*.rs and any build.rs under crates/**
+    let files = collect_rust_files(&workspace_root);
+
+    let mut violations = BTreeSet::new();
+
+    // Path-segment checks (case-insensitive) on each file path
+    for path in &files {
+        if let Some(diag) = path_segment_violation(path) {
+            violations.insert(diag);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Content checks
+    for path in &files {
+        let Ok(content) = fs::read_to_string(path) else { continue };
+        let stripped = strip_comments_and_strings(&content);
+        let toks = tokenize_identifiers(&stripped);
+
+        for (tok, line, col) in toks {
+            if is_forbidden_ident(&tok) {
+                violations.insert(format!("{}:{}:{} identifier '{}': legacy token",
+                    rel(&workspace_root, path), line, col, tok));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    if !violations.is_empty() {
+        let mut msg = String::from("Legacy artifacts detected (RC/HIP/scope helpers). Please remove or rename.\n");
+        for v in &violations {
+            msg.push_str(" - ");
+            msg.push_str(v);
+            msg.push('\n');
+        }
+        panic!("{}", msg);
+    }
+}
+
+fn rel(root: &Path, p: &Path) -> String {
+    pathdiff::diff_paths(p, root).unwrap_or_else(|| p.to_path_buf()).display().to_string()
+}
+
+fn find_workspace_root() -> Option<PathBuf> {
+    let mut dir = PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"));
+    // Walk up until we find a Cargo.toml that contains "[workspace]"
+    while dir.pop() {
+        let candidate = dir.join("Cargo.toml");
+        if candidate.exists() {
+            if let Ok(txt) = fs::read_to_string(&candidate) {
+                if txt.contains("[workspace]") {
+                    return Some(dir.clone());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    None
+}
+
+fn collect_rust_files(root: &Path) -> Vec<PathBuf> {
+    let mut out = Vec::new();
+    let crates_dir = root.join("crates");
+    if !crates_dir.exists() { return out; }
+
+    let mut stack = vec![crates_dir];
+    while let Some(dir) = stack.pop() {
+        // Exclude noisy/non-code directories early
+        let name_lc = dir.file_name().and_then(|s| s.to_str()).unwrap_or("").to_ascii_lowercase();
+        if matches!(name_lc.as_str(),
+            "target" | "docs" | "files" | "sdcard" | "test-cartridges" | "temp")
+            || name_lc.starts_with("dist")
+        {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let Ok(read) = fs::read_dir(&dir) else { continue };
+        for entry in read.flatten() {
+            let path = entry.path();
+            if path.is_dir() {
+                stack.push(path);
+            } else if path.file_name().and_then(|s| s.to_str()) == Some("build.rs") {
+                out.push(path);
+            } else if path.extension().and_then(|s| s.to_str()) == Some("rs") {
+                // Only include files under a src/ directory
+                if path.components().any(|c| c.as_os_str() == "src") {
+                    out.push(path);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    out.sort();
+    out
+}
+
+fn path_segment_violation(path: &Path) -> Option<String> {
+    let mut segs: Vec<String> = path
+        .components()
+        .filter_map(|c| c.as_os_str().to_str().map(|s| s.to_string()))
+        .collect();
+    if let Some(fname) = path.file_stem().and_then(|s| s.to_str()) {
+        segs.push(fname.to_string());
+    }
+    for seg in segs {
+        let seg_lc = seg.to_ascii_lowercase();
+        for &bad in FORBIDDEN_PATH_SEGMENTS {
+            if seg_lc == bad.to_ascii_lowercase() {
+                return Some(format!(
+                    "{} path-segment '{}'",
+                    path.display(), seg
+                ));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    None
+}
+
+fn is_forbidden_ident(tok: &str) -> bool {
+    FORBIDDEN_IDENT_TOKENS.iter().any(|&bad| bad == tok)
+}
+
+fn tokenize_identifiers(text: &str) -> Vec<(String, usize, usize)> {
+    let mut out = Vec::new();
+    let mut line: usize = 1;
+    let mut col: usize = 1;
+    let mut i = 0;
+    let bytes = text.as_bytes();
+    while i < bytes.len() {
+        let b = bytes[i];
+        let ch = b as char;
+        if ch == '\n' {
+            line += 1;
+            col = 1;
+            i += 1;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if is_ident_start(ch) {
+            let start_line = line;
+            let start_col = col;
+            let start = i;
+            i += 1; col += 1;
+            while i < bytes.len() {
+                let c = bytes[i] as char;
+                if is_ident_part(c) { i += 1; col += 1; } else { break; }
+            }
+            let tok = &text[start..i];
+            out.push((tok.to_string(), start_line, start_col));
+        } else {
+            i += 1; col += 1;
+        }
+    }
+    out
+}
+
+fn is_ident_start(c: char) -> bool {
+    c == '_' || c.is_ascii_alphabetic()
+}
+
+fn is_ident_part(c: char) -> bool {
+    c == '_' || c.is_ascii_alphanumeric()
+}
+
+fn strip_comments_and_strings(src: &str) -> String {
+    // State machine that removes line comments (//...), block comments (/*...*/),
+    // normal strings ("..." with escapes), and raw strings (r#"..."# with up to 10 hashes).
+    let mut out = String::with_capacity(src.len());
+    let b = src.as_bytes();
+    let mut i = 0;
+    let mut line = 1usize; // keep newlines for accurate positions
+
+    while i < b.len() {
+        let c = b[i] as char;
+        // Preserve newlines to maintain line numbers
+        if c == '\n' { out.push('\n'); i += 1; line += 1; continue; }
+
+        // Try to match line comment
+        if c == '/' && i + 1 < b.len() && b[i + 1] as char == '/' {
+            i += 2;
+            while i < b.len() {
+                let ch = b[i] as char;
+                if ch == '\n' { break; }
+                i += 1;
+            }
+            continue; // newline is handled at top on next loop
+        }
+
+        // Try to match block comment (non-nested for simplicity)
+        if c == '/' && i + 1 < b.len() && b[i + 1] as char == '*' {
+            i += 2;
+            while i + 1 < b.len() {
+                let ch = b[i] as char;
+                if ch == '\n' { out.push('\n'); line += 1; }
+                if ch == '*' && b[i + 1] as char == '/' { i += 2; break; }
+                i += 1;
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        // Try to match raw string like r"..." or r#"..."# up to 10 hashes
+        if c == 'r' {
+            let mut j = i + 1;
+            let mut hashes = 0usize;
+            if j < b.len() && b[j] as char == '#' {
+                while j < b.len() && b[j] as char == '#' && hashes < 10 { hashes += 1; j += 1; }
+            }
+            if j < b.len() && b[j] as char == '"' {
+                // Found start of raw string
+                j += 1; // skip opening quote
+                let mut end_found = false;
+                while j < b.len() {
+                    let ch = b[j] as char;
+                    if ch == '\n' { out.push('\n'); line += 1; j += 1; continue; }
+                    if ch == '"' {
+                        // check for closing hashes
+                        let mut k = j + 1;
+                        let mut matched = 0usize;
+                        while matched < hashes && k < b.len() && b[k] as char == '#' {
+                            matched += 1; k += 1;
+                        }
+                        if matched == hashes {
+                            i = k; // consume entire raw string
+                            end_found = true;
+                            break;
+                        } else {
+                            j += 1; // this quote is part of content
+                            continue;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    j += 1;
+                }
+                if !end_found { i = j; } // EOF inside string
+                continue;
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Try to match normal string "..." with escapes
+        if c == '"' {
+            i += 1; // skip starting quote
+            while i < b.len() {
+                let ch = b[i] as char;
+                if ch == '\n' { out.push('\n'); line += 1; }
+                if ch == '\\' {
+                    i += 2; // skip escaped char
+                    continue;
+                }
+                if ch == '"' { i += 1; break; }
+                i += 1;
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        // Default: copy byte
+        out.push(c);
+        i += 1;
+    }
+
+    out
+}
+
+// Minimal pathdiff to avoid bringing an external dependency if not present
+mod pathdiff {
+    use std::path::{Component, Path, PathBuf};
+
+    pub fn diff_paths(path: &Path, base: &Path) -> Option<PathBuf> {
+        let path = path.absolutize();
+        let base = base.absolutize();
+        let mut ita = base.components();
+        let mut itb = path.components();
+
+        // pop common prefix
+        let mut comps_a: Vec<Component> = Vec::new();
+        let mut comps_b: Vec<Component> = Vec::new();
+        for c in ita { comps_a.push(c); }
+        for c in itb { comps_b.push(c); }
+
+        let mut i = 0usize;
+        while i < comps_a.len() && i < comps_b.len() && comps_a[i] == comps_b[i] { i += 1; }
+
+        let mut result = PathBuf::new();
+        for _ in i..comps_a.len() { result.push(".."); }
+        for c in &comps_b[i..] { result.push(c.as_os_str()); }
+        Some(result)
+    }
+
+    trait Absolutize { fn absolutize(&self) -> PathBuf; }
+    impl Absolutize for Path {
+        fn absolutize(&self) -> PathBuf {
+            if self.is_absolute() { self.to_path_buf() } else { std::env::current_dir().unwrap().join(self) }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/files/TODOs.md b/files/TODOs.md
index deb3df5f..97ef1d55 100644
--- a/files/TODOs.md
+++ b/files/TODOs.md
@@ -1,68 +1,3 @@
-# PR-8.4 — No Legacy Artifacts Enforcement
-
-## Briefing
-
-The codebase must not contain legacy RC/HIP artifacts.
-
-Forbidden patterns:
-
-* retain
-* release
-* hip
-* gate
-* borrow
-* scope (legacy usage context)
-* RC-related modules
-
-## Target
-
-Implement automated check:
-
-* Script or test that scans source tree for forbidden symbols.
-* Fails CI if found.
-
-Also:
-
-* Remove dead modules/files.
-* Remove unused features.
-
-## Acceptance Checklist
-
-* [ ] Automated legacy scan exists.
-* [ ] No legacy symbols present.
-* [ ] Dead modules removed.
-
-## Tests
-
-1. Intentionally insert forbidden symbol in test branch → test fails.
-2. Scan passes on clean tree.
-
-## Junie Instructions
-
-You MAY:
-
-* Add static scan test.
-* Remove dead code.
-
-You MUST NOT:
-
-* Suppress warnings instead of fixing code.
-* Leave deprecated modules commented out.
-
-If unsure whether a symbol is legacy or valid, STOP and ask.
-
----
-
-## Final Definition of Done
-
-* Disassembler roundtrip-safe.
-* Deterministic harness in place.
-* Layered test suite established.
-* No legacy artifacts remain.
-* All tests reproducible and stable.
-
----
-
 # PR-9 — Final Hardening & Baseline Documentation
 
 This phase finalizes the new Prometeu VM baseline after the architectural reset (GC, closures, coroutines, unified syscall ABI, deterministic scheduler).