diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 55f947ff..d917a858 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2815,3 +2815,21 @@ Campaign analytics shows `Skipped by frequency cap`; recipient output includes
 This implementation keeps the published SDK pin unchanged. Release waits for a
 matching SDK prerelease and accepted API contract; source support does not imply
 package publication or beta availability.
+
+## Channel update metadata
+
+Use the existing event stream to read `newsletter.update` observations as JSON lines:
+
+```sh
+polymorfa event stream --owner project --project "$PROJECT_ID" --type newsletter.update --json
+```
+
+`live_update` messages contain reported counts and positions, with optional message
+references. Missing counts are not zero. Preserve every typed or untyped view
+value and unknown milestone type. Position-only observations do not provide
+message action authority. The payload contains no message body.
+
+`channel message list --json` and `channel message updates --json` preserve a
+reported `forwards` value, including zero. Event lists remain metadata-only;
+`event view --include-payload --json` returns exact retained bytes only when the
+API authorizes them. These commands do not request additional retention.
diff --git a/contracts/newsletter-observations.json b/contracts/newsletter-observations.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c3a83355
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contracts/newsletter-observations.json
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+{
+  "repository": "polymorfa/polymorfa",
+  "sourceCommit": "d60f08042a5e3f36e53a7b378be7b7e710e80e9f",
+  "sourcePath": "apps/api/docs/openapi.json",
+  "sourceSha256": "9253f7fcf7b6e802411cc2f9b3b28bbf7c1e45e90c2ebee7fc461f5627ca9a32",
+  "polymorfaVersion": "2026-09-22",
+  "sdkSourceCommit": "d7977377f97b9fa12b8837ba02bc30c6fb512733",
+  "localCandidateSdkArtifactSha256": "fc2b0ba01891c38956055e1719c726e73630d8fa8f778f6a6f1a69018d54d651",
+  "published": false,
+  "productionDependencyPinUnchanged": "0.1.0-dev.20261004024706",
+  "scope": "Existing channel JSON and event view/stream retain optional newsletter metadata; no new commands. Event list stays metadata-only.",
+  "releaseGate": "Matching accepted and published SDK required before a real CLI dependency-pin update; local artifact testing is not registry publication.",
+  "qualification": {
+    "cliSource": "131b02f1813e383140b26ef31bd7e8726367ebb0",
+    "cliArtifactSha256": "027e0af085db135ee295aa42d92d0f7e9d87cee4cad00cdf7f28c7d626c366fa",
+    "sdkArtifactSha256": "fc2b0ba01891c38956055e1719c726e73630d8fa8f778f6a6f1a69018d54d651",
+    "checks": [
+      "channel list/update forwards zero",
+      "metadata-only event list",
+      "exact retained event bytes",
+      "three native SSE events to CLI NDJSON"
+    ],
+    "dependencyRebind": "Final SDK Rust README fix changes no TypeScript package bytes; the packed SHA-256 matches the artifact used by this physical CLI test.",
+    "fullCliTestsPassed": 1091,
+    "productionAuditVulnerabilities": 0,
+    "zod": "4.6.7",
+    "liveAcceptance": false
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/commands/newsletter-observations.test.ts b/test/commands/newsletter-observations.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6c1d854f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/commands/newsletter-observations.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+import {readFileSync} from 'node:fs'
+import {runCommand} from '@oclif/test'
+import {afterEach, describe, expect, test} from 'vitest'
+import {
+  startHttpServer,
+  startHttpSequenceServer,
+  withEnvironment,
+  type TestHttpServer,
+} from '../helpers/http-server.js'
+interface FixtureEnvelope {
+  readonly id: string
+  readonly session: string
+  readonly timestamp: string
+  readonly event: string
+  readonly payload: {
+    readonly id: string
+    readonly action: string
+    readonly muted?: boolean
+    readonly messages?: readonly {
+      readonly position: number
+      readonly forwards?: number
+      readonly reactionCounts?: Readonly<Record<string, number>>
+    }[]
+    readonly milestone?: {readonly type: string; readonly value: number}
+  }
+}
+const fixture = JSON.parse(
+  readFileSync(
+    new URL(
+      '../fixtures/newsletter-observations/delivery.json',
+      import.meta.url,
+    ),
+    'utf8',
+  ),
+) as {readonly events: readonly FixtureEnvelope[]}
+const channel = JSON.parse(
+  readFileSync(
+    new URL(
+      '../fixtures/newsletter-observations/channel-message.json',
+      import.meta.url,
+    ),
+    'utf8',
+  ),
+) as Record<string, unknown>
+const PROJECT = '11111111-1111-4111-8111-111111111111'
+const metadata = (index: number, includePayload: boolean) => ({
+  id: fixture.events[index]!.id,
+  organizationId: 'org_1',
+  projectId: PROJECT,
+  type: 'newsletter.update',
+  source: 'runtime',
+  environment: 'development',
+  createdAt: fixture.events[index]!.timestamp,
+  payloadAvailability: includePayload ? 'available' : 'not_retained',
+  payload: includePayload
+    ? {
+        encoding: 'base64',
+        contentType: 'application/json',
+        data: Buffer.from(JSON.stringify(fixture.events[index])).toString(
+          'base64',
+        ),
+      }
+    : null,
+  replayableUntil: null,
+  metadataExpiresAt: '2026-11-27T00:00:00.000Z',
+})
+describe('newsletter observation consumers', () => {
+  let server: TestHttpServer | undefined
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await server?.close()
+    server = undefined
+  })
+  const environment = <T>(run: () => Promise<T>) =>
+    withEnvironment(
+      {
+        POLYMORFA_API_KEY:
+          'pmfa_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA',
+        POLYMORFA_BASE_URL: server!.baseUrl,
+        POLYMORFA_CLIENT_TOKEN: undefined,
+        POLYMORFA_PROJECT_TOKEN: undefined,
+      },
+      run,
+    )
+  test.each(['list', 'updates'])(
+    'retains reported forward zero in channel message %s JSON',
+    async (command) => {
+      server = await startHttpServer({body: {success: true, data: [channel]}})
+      const result = await environment(() =>
+        runCommand(
+          `channel message ${command} ${fixture.events[0]!.payload.id} --session number_1 --json`,
+        ),
+      )
+      expect(result.error).toBeUndefined()
+      expect((JSON.parse(result.stdout) as {data: unknown}).data).toEqual([
+        channel,
+      ])
+    },
+  )
+  test('keeps event list metadata separate from explicitly requested retained payload bytes', async () => {
+    const listed = metadata(0, false),
+      detail = metadata(0, true)
+    server = await startHttpSequenceServer([
+      {body: {data: [listed], page: {hasMore: false, nextCursor: null}}},
+      {body: {data: detail}},
+    ])
+    const list = await environment(() =>
+      runCommand(
+        `event list --owner project --project ${PROJECT} --type newsletter.update --json`,
+      ),
+    )
+    expect(list.error).toBeUndefined()
+    expect((JSON.parse(list.stdout) as {data: unknown}).data).toEqual([listed])
+    const view = await environment(() =>
+      runCommand(
+        `event view ${detail.id} --owner project --project ${PROJECT} --include-payload --json`,
+      ),
+    )
+    expect(view.error).toBeUndefined()
+    const bytes = (JSON.parse(view.stdout) as {data: {payload: {data: string}}})
+      .data.payload.data
+    expect(JSON.parse(Buffer.from(bytes, 'base64').toString())).toEqual(
+      fixture.events[0],
+    )
+    expect(server.requests[1]?.url).toContain('includePayload=true')
+  })
+  test('preserves native live, milestone and legacy payloads through real SDK SSE into NDJSON', async () => {
+    const ready = {
+      v: 1,
+      type: 'ready',
+      streamId: 's',
+      sequence: 1,
+      heartbeatIntervalMs: 15000,
+    }
+    const frames = fixture.events
+      .map(
+        (_: unknown, index: number) =>
+          `id: c${index}\nevent: event\ndata: ${JSON.stringify({v: 1, type: 'event', streamId: 's', sequence: index + 2, sentAt: fixture.events[index]!.timestamp, cursor: `c${index}`, event: metadata(index, true)})}\n\n`,
+      )
+      .join('')
+    server = await startHttpSequenceServer([
+      {
+        headers: {'content-type': 'text/event-stream'},
+        rawBody: `event: ready\ndata: ${JSON.stringify(ready)}\n\n${frames}`,
+      },
+      {status: 204},
+    ])
+    const result = await environment(() =>
+      runCommand(
+        `event stream --owner project --project ${PROJECT} --type newsletter.update --max-events 3 --json`,
+      ),
+    )
+    expect(result.error).toBeUndefined()
+    const lines = result.stdout
+      .trim()
+      .split('\n')
+      .map((line) => JSON.parse(line) as {webhook: FixtureEnvelope})
+    expect(lines).toHaveLength(3)
+    expect(lines.map((line) => line.webhook)).toEqual(fixture.events)
+    expect(lines[0]?.webhook.payload.messages?.[0]?.forwards).toBe(0)
+    expect(lines[0]?.webhook.payload.messages?.[0]?.reactionCounts).toEqual({})
+    expect(lines[0]?.webhook.payload.messages?.[1]).toEqual({position: 124})
+    expect(lines[1]?.webhook.payload.milestone).toMatchObject({
+      type: 'FUTURE_MILESTONE',
+      value: 0,
+    })
+    expect(lines[2]?.webhook.payload.muted).toBe(false)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/test/fixtures/newsletter-observations/channel-message.json b/test/fixtures/newsletter-observations/channel-message.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1595b387
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/newsletter-observations/channel-message.json
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+{
+  "position": 123,
+  "id": "9007199254740994",
+  "whatsapp_ids": {
+    "linked_devices": "native-observed"
+  },
+  "whatsapp_id": "native-observed",
+  "conversation": {
+    "id": "9007199254740993"
+  },
+  "type": "text",
+  "timestamp": "2023-11-14T22:13:21Z",
+  "views": 11,
+  "forwards": 0,
+  "reactionCounts": {}
+}
diff --git a/test/fixtures/newsletter-observations/delivery.json b/test/fixtures/newsletter-observations/delivery.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..22829e89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/newsletter-observations/delivery.json
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+{
+  "secret": "synthetic-newsletter-secret",
+  "batchId": "0198a2cb-0000-7000-8000-000000000081",
+  "events": [
+    {
+      "id": "newsletter-event-0",
+      "session": "channel-number",
+      "timestamp": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z",
+      "event": "newsletter.update",
+      "payload": {
+        "id": "9007199254740993",
+        "action": "live_update",
+        "sourceTimestamp": "2023-11-14T22:13:20Z",
+        "messages": [
+          {
+            "position": 123,
+            "message": {
+              "id": "9007199254740994",
+              "whatsapp_ids": {
+                "linked_devices": "native-observed"
+              }
+            },
+            "timestamp": "2023-11-14T22:13:21Z",
+            "viewCounts": [
+              {
+                "count": 0
+              },
+              {
+                "type": "views",
+                "count": 11
+              }
+            ],
+            "forwards": 0,
+            "reactionCounts": {}
+          },
+          {
+            "position": 124
+          }
+        ]
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "newsletter-event-1",
+      "session": "channel-number",
+      "timestamp": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z",
+      "event": "newsletter.update",
+      "payload": {
+        "id": "9007199254740993",
+        "action": "milestone",
+        "milestone": {
+          "position": 123,
+          "type": "FUTURE_MILESTONE",
+          "value": 0,
+          "reactionCode": "👍"
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "legacy-mute",
+      "session": "channel-number",
+      "timestamp": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z",
+      "event": "newsletter.update",
+      "payload": {
+        "id": "9007199254740993",
+        "action": "mute",
+        "muted": false
+      }
+    }
+  ]
+}