diff --git a/0018/SESSION-0018.0-TRANSCRIPT-2026-05-28T09-23--2026-05-28T11-02.md b/0018/SESSION-0018.0-TRANSCRIPT-2026-05-28T09-23--2026-05-28T11-02.md
index c5df5d9..31c6c4c 100644
--- a/0018/SESSION-0018.0-TRANSCRIPT-2026-05-28T09-23--2026-05-28T11-02.md
+++ b/0018/SESSION-0018.0-TRANSCRIPT-2026-05-28T09-23--2026-05-28T11-02.md
@@ -148,6 +148,35 @@ cbc9949 Merge feature/v0.20.0-docs-specs-nav-hierarchy
 
 Tagged `v0.20.0`, pushed origin main + tag + benstull main + tag. Deleted the merged feature branch locally.
 
+### Arc 9 — Operator correction at close-out: handoff prompt before publish
+
+Wrote and published the transcript first (commit `edca38d` on
+`wiggleverse/ohm-session-history`), then sent the operator the session
+summary. Operator replied: **"i need the prompt"** — they wanted the
+paste-ready next-session handoff prompt delivered *before* publish, not
+after. Verbatim follow-up: **"Always give me the next prompt before
+cutting the transcript moving forward."**
+
+Captured this as binding:
+
+1. New feedback memory at
+   `~/.claude/projects/.../memory/feedback_handoff_prompt_before_publish.md`
+   so future sessions read it on open.
+2. New bullet in `SESSION-PROTOCOL.md` §3 (Discipline notes):
+   "Handoff prompt before transcript cut." Sequence at session close:
+   finish substantive work → deliver handoff prompt to operator →
+   finalize transcript → publish.
+3. Re-finalized this transcript with Arc 9 + the cut-state row noting
+   the protocol amendment, then re-published. Re-publish is the
+   idempotent "update SESSION-…md" path; the original
+   `edca38d` commit is preserved in the audit trail and the new
+   commit names what changed.
+
+Convention applies from Session 0019.0 onward. Session 0018.0 itself
+is the meta-example — the operator wouldn't have had to ask for the
+prompt if I'd surfaced it in the closing message before running
+`publish-transcript.sh`.
+
 ### Arc 8 — Pin bump + deploy + verify
 
 Bumped `ohm-rfc/.rfc-app-version` from `0.19.0` to `0.20.0`, committed (`c9a4755`), pushed.
@@ -215,6 +244,7 @@ The browser-side verification of the nav hierarchy + body-list removal + DocsSpe
 | Bonus: ROADMAP #30 strikethrough with Phase 1+Phase 2 attribution | ✅ shipped |
 | Bonus: SESSION-PROTOCOL.md §1 amendment (`N → 0014.0` + body-rewrite paragraph) | ✅ shipped |
 | Bonus: `frontend/package-lock.json` version drift fix (Session 0017.0 §19.2 candidate a) | ✅ shipped |
+| Bonus: SESSION-PROTOCOL.md §3 "Handoff prompt before transcript cut" amendment (operator correction at close-out) | ✅ shipped |
 
 ---
 
@@ -416,6 +446,12 @@ candidate — investigate before next subagent dispatch.
   report-back text. **When a subagent stalls, driver folds the
   report-back into the parent transcript per §5's "stub written
   by driver" fallback.**
+- **§3 "Handoff prompt before transcript cut"** (new, Session 0018.0):
+  the driver MUST deliver the paste-ready handoff prompt to the
+  operator in a chat message BEFORE invoking
+  `scripts/publish-transcript.sh`. Sequence at close: finish work →
+  deliver prompt → finalize transcript → publish. Re-publishing
+  is idempotent if the operator's review surfaces more work.
 - **Protocol amendments must land with the code change.**
 - **Naming**: this is Session 0019.0. Driver transcript:
   `SESSION-0019.0-TRANSCRIPT-<start>--<end>.md`. Subagent