fix(web): ship degraded search readiness state

docs/features/checked/web/search-readiness-degraded-answer-state-ui.md

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Search Readiness Degraded Answer State UI
+
+## Scope
+- Verifies the top-bar search surface tells the truth when suggestion-viability preflight is unavailable and the active search response reports zero indexed matches.
+- Confirms the UI renders environment-readiness copy instead of clarify guidance for that bounded degraded-readiness case.
+
+## Files
+- `src/Web/StellaOps.Web/src/app/layout/global-search/global-search.component.ts`
+- `src/Web.StellaOps.Web/src/tests/global_search/global-search.component.spec.ts`
+- `src/Web.StellaOps.Web/tests/e2e/unified-search-experience-quality.e2e.spec.ts`
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-self-serve-contract.md`
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+
+## Verification
+1. Focused Angular coverage:
+   - `npm test -- --watch=false --include src/tests/global_search/global-search.component.spec.ts`
+   - Result: `26/26` tests passed.
+2. Deterministic Playwright coverage:
+   - `npx playwright test tests/e2e/unified-search-experience-quality.e2e.spec.ts --grep "search-readiness guidance" --workers=1`
+   - Result: `1/1` test passed.
+
+## Outcome
+- Search now refreshes suggestion viability on the same debounced query path that drives the search request instead of leaving the viability state stale for typed queries.
+- When viability preflight is unavailable and the response diagnostics show zero indexed matches, the answer panel renders `Search needs live data` and suppresses clarify guidance.
+- Docs now describe this as an environment-readiness problem, not an operator-query problem.

docs/modules/ui/TASKS.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # UI Task Board
 
 ## Active Sprint Links
-- None currently. Completed UI delivery and restoration sprints are archived under `docs-archived/implplan/`.
+- None currently. Completed UI delivery and verification sprints are archived under `docs-archived/implplan/`.
 
 ## Delivery Tasks
 - [DONE] 041-T1 Root IA/nav rewrite (Mission Control + Ops + Setup)
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@
 - [DONE] FE-SF-002 Automatic answer/overflow presentation cleanup
 - [DONE] FE-SF-003 Suggestion execution and success-only history hardening
 - [DONE] FE-SF-004 Search-first shell verification coverage
+- [DONE] FE-SRD-001 Bound the degraded-search readiness case
+- [DONE] FE-SRD-002 Render an explicit readiness answer state
+- [DONE] FE-SRD-003 Add focused deterministic regression coverage
+- [DONE] FE-SRD-004 Sync search docs and rollout guidance
 - [DONE] QA-SF-001 Live route preflight and corpus readiness gate
 - [DONE] QA-SF-002 Execute surfaced suggestions on supported routes
 - [DONE] QA-SF-003 Align deterministic and live search-first matrices

docs/modules/ui/implementation_plan.md

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Provide a living plan for UI deliverables, dependencies, and evidence.
 - `docs/features/checked/web/topology-trust-administration-ui.md` - shipped verification note for canonical topology and trust setup shells, repaired settings/admin/platform aliases, and platform-setup handoffs.
 - `docs/features/checked/web/security-operations-leaves-ui.md` - shipped verification note for mission alerts/activity surfacing, unknowns route repair, notifications ownership, and legacy security alias cutover.
 - `docs/features/checked/web/findings-compare-baseline-availability-ui.md` - shipped verification note for the truthful no-baseline findings compare state, disabled export behavior, live findings detail list, and removed stale audit export action.
+- `docs/features/checked/web/search-readiness-degraded-answer-state-ui.md` - shipped verification note for truthful degraded-readiness search copy when suggestion viability is unavailable and the active response reports zero indexed matches.
 - `docs/features/checked/web/platform-setup-canonical-route-preservation-ui.md` - shipped verification note for preserved `/ops/platform-setup/*` URLs during the shared setup/topology cutover.
 - `docs/features/checked/web/release-promotions-cutover-ui.md` - shipped verification note for canonical release promotions routing, alias cutover, release-context wizard handoff, and end-to-end request submission.
 - `docs/features/checked/web/evidence-capsules-canonical-cutover-ui.md` - shipped verification note for canonical Evidence-owned capsule routes, `/evidence-packs*` bookmark repair, and AI/release context handoffs.