diff --git a/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/InterviewScan.ts b/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/InterviewScan.ts
index 86546bf4c3..9ec95aeda7 100755
--- a/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/InterviewScan.ts
+++ b/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/InterviewScan.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ for (const __k of ["LIFEOS_DIR", "LIFEOS_CONFIG_DIR", "PROJECTS_DIR"]) {
 
 import { readFileSync, existsSync } from "fs";
 import { join } from "path";
-import { readTelosFreshness, sectionSlug, type SectionFreshness } from "./TelosFreshness";
+import { readTelosFreshness, sectionSlug, splitFilePathForSlug, parseFrontmatter, type SectionFreshness } from "./TelosFreshness";
 
 // Normalize env path vars that Claude Code injects without shell expansion (LifeOS#1404)
 for (const k of ["LIFEOS_DIR", "LIFEOS_CONFIG_DIR", "PROJECTS_DIR"]) {
@@ -274,7 +274,17 @@ function parseTelosSections(content: string): Map<string, string> {
 
 function extractSectionBody(target: RegistryTarget, sections: Map<string, string>): string | null {
   if (!target.path.startsWith(TELOS_SECTION_PREFIX)) return null;
-  return sections.get(sectionSlug(target.name)) ?? null;
+  const slug = sectionSlug(target.name);
+  // Split-file mode wins: TELOS.md is a thin index, so the per-concept file is
+  // authoritative when it has content — matching GenerateTelosSummary and TELOS.md's
+  // own "split file wins" rule. Strip frontmatter so scoring matches how TELOS.md H2
+  // bodies are measured (and a prior last_updated bump can't inflate the body).
+  const splitPath = splitFilePathForSlug(slug, TELOS_PATH);
+  if (splitPath) {
+    const body = parseFrontmatter(readFileSync(splitPath, "utf-8")).rest;
+    if (body != null && body.trim().length > 0) return body;
+  }
+  return sections.get(slug) ?? null;
 }
 
 function freshnessForSection(target: RegistryTarget): SectionFreshness | null {
diff --git a/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/TelosFreshness.ts b/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/TelosFreshness.ts
index 7623a85c7c..63ee839520 100755
--- a/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/TelosFreshness.ts
+++ b/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/TelosFreshness.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ for (const __k of ["LIFEOS_DIR", "LIFEOS_CONFIG_DIR", "PROJECTS_DIR"]) {
 import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, existsSync } from "fs";
 import { getDAName } from "../../hooks/lib/identity"
 
-import { basename, join } from "path";
+import { basename, dirname, join } from "path";
 
 // Normalize env path vars that Claude Code injects without shell expansion (LifeOS#1404)
 for (const k of ["LIFEOS_DIR", "LIFEOS_CONFIG_DIR", "PROJECTS_DIR"]) {
@@ -115,6 +115,50 @@ export const STALENESS_THRESHOLDS: Record<string, number> = {
 
 const DEFAULT_THRESHOLD_DAYS = 180;
 
+// ─── Split-file mode support ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+//
+// LifeOS schema "one concept → one file": TELOS.md can be a thin index while
+// each section's content lives in its own ALLCAPS sibling file (MISSION.md,
+// GOALS.md, …). This map is the section-slug → split-filename source of truth,
+// consumed by readTelosFreshness (below) and InterviewScan.extractSectionBody
+// so both read split content when the TELOS.md H2 is absent. Irregular pairs
+// (food→FOOD_PREFERENCES, learning_interests→LEARNING) are explicit; consistent
+// with GenerateTelosSummary's LEGACY_FILE_TO_SECTION inverse.
+export const SPLIT_FILE_BY_SLUG: Record<string, string> = {
+  mission: "MISSION.md", goals: "GOALS.md", problems: "PROBLEMS.md",
+  strategies: "STRATEGIES.md", challenges: "CHALLENGES.md", narratives: "NARRATIVES.md",
+  beliefs: "BELIEFS.md", models: "MODELS.md", frames: "FRAMES.md", traumas: "TRAUMAS.md",
+  wrong: "WRONG.md", wisdom: "WISDOM.md", predictions: "PREDICTIONS.md", ideas: "IDEAS.md",
+  sparks: "SPARKS.md", books: "BOOKS.md", authors: "AUTHORS.md", bands: "BANDS.md",
+  movies: "MOVIES.md", restaurants: "RESTAURANTS.md", food: "FOOD_PREFERENCES.md",
+  meetups: "MEETUPS.md", civic: "CIVIC.md", learning_interests: "LEARNING.md", team: "TEAM.md",
+};
+
+/** Absolute path to a section's split file if it exists as a TELOS-dir sibling, else null. */
+export function splitFilePathForSlug(slug: string, telosPath: string = TELOS_PATH): string | null {
+  const filename = SPLIT_FILE_BY_SLUG[slug];
+  if (!filename) return null;
+  const p = join(dirname(telosPath), filename);
+  return existsSync(p) ? p : null;
+}
+
+function prettifySlug(slug: string): string {
+  return slug.split("_").map((w) => (w ? w[0].toUpperCase() + w.slice(1) : w)).join(" ");
+}
+
+// First substantive body line, trimmed of markup and capped, for a section preview.
+// Shared by the H2-section scan and the split-file scan. skipHeadings drops '#'
+// lines (a split file body can carry its own headings; an H2 section body cannot).
+function extractPreview(lines: string[], skipHeadings = false): string {
+  for (const line of lines) {
+    const t = line.trim();
+    if (!t || t.startsWith("<!--") || t.startsWith(">") || t.startsWith("---")) continue;
+    if (skipHeadings && t.startsWith("#")) continue;
+    return t.replace(/^[#>*\-\s]+/, "").slice(0, 80);
+  }
+  return "";
+}
+
 // ─── Types ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 export interface SectionFreshness {
@@ -407,14 +451,7 @@ export function readTelosFreshness(path: string = TELOS_PATH): TelosFreshness {
       }
     }
 
-    // First substantive line of the section body, for preview.
-    let preview = "";
-    for (let j = i + 1; j < Math.min(i + 12, lines.length); j++) {
-      const t = lines[j].trim();
-      if (!t || t.startsWith("<!--") || t.startsWith(">") || t.startsWith("---")) continue;
-      preview = t.replace(/^[#>*\-\s]+/, "").slice(0, 80);
-      break;
-    }
+    const preview = extractPreview(lines.slice(i + 1, i + 12));
 
     const ageDays = updated ? daysBetween(updated, now) : null;
     const stale = ageDays === null || ageDays > thresholdDays;
@@ -422,6 +459,27 @@ export function readTelosFreshness(path: string = TELOS_PATH): TelosFreshness {
     sections.push({ name, slug, updated, ageDays, thresholdDays, stale, preview, line: i + 1 });
   }
 
+  // Split-file mode: TELOS.md is a thin index — surface each existing split file
+  // as its own section (freshness from the split file's own frontmatter). When a
+  // section exists as both a TELOS.md H2 and a split file, the split file wins —
+  // matching GenerateTelosSummary and TELOS.md's own "split file wins" rule.
+  const idxBySlug = new Map(sections.map((s, i) => [s.slug, i]));
+  const telosDir = dirname(path);
+  for (const [slug, filename] of Object.entries(SPLIT_FILE_BY_SLUG)) {
+    const splitPath = join(telosDir, filename);
+    if (!existsSync(splitPath)) continue;
+    const { fm: splitFm, rest } = parseFrontmatter(readFileSync(splitPath, "utf-8"));
+    const updated = parseDate(splitFm.last_updated);
+    const thresholdDays = STALENESS_THRESHOLDS[slug] ?? DEFAULT_THRESHOLD_DAYS;
+    const ageDays = updated ? daysBetween(updated, now) : null;
+    const stale = ageDays === null || ageDays > thresholdDays;
+    const preview = extractPreview(rest.split("\n"), true);
+    const splitSection = { name: prettifySlug(slug), slug, updated, ageDays, thresholdDays, stale, preview, line: 0 };
+    const existing = idxBySlug.get(slug);
+    if (existing !== undefined) sections[existing] = splitSection;
+    else sections.push(splitSection);
+  }
+
   const staleSections = sections
     .filter((s) => s.stale)
     .sort((a, b) => {
@@ -621,6 +679,17 @@ export function bumpTelosTimestamp(
     raw = lines.join("\n");
   }
 
+  // Split-file mode: slug wasn't a TELOS.md H2 — bump the split file's own
+  // frontmatter so readTelosFreshness reads it fresh.
+  if (slug && !sectionFound) {
+    const splitPath = splitFilePathForSlug(slug, path);
+    if (splitPath) {
+      const rawSplit = readFileSync(splitPath, "utf-8");
+      writeFileSync(splitPath, bumpFileFrontmatter(rawSplit, isoNow, by));
+      sectionFound = true;
+    }
+  }
+
   writeFileSync(path, raw);
   refreshFreshnessCache();
   return { changed: true, sectionFound };