diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
index f659e24..aaf0e46 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -141,17 +141,53 @@ jobs:
           [ -n "$FOUND" ] || { echo "FATAL: no ClickHouse behind the alias accepts this run's credentials"; exit 1; }
           echo "CLICKHOUSE_URL=http://$FOUND:8123" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
           echo "CLICKHOUSE_AUTH=opt_ci:$PASS" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+      # The anti-skip guard here used to grep vitest's HUMAN output:
+      #
+      #   grep -qE "skipped" && ! grep -qE "Tests  [0-9]+ passed"
+      #
+      # vitest colours that summary, so the real line on this runner is
+      # ESC[2m      Tests ESC[22m ESC[1mESC[32m97 passedESC[39m ... — ANSI escapes
+      # sit between "Tests " and the digits, so the two-spaces-then-digit
+      # pattern can never match. The first grep still matched "skipped", so
+      # the guard fired on ANY run containing a single skipped test while
+      # printing "integration suites skipped instead of running" — a false
+      # statement. Measured 2026-09-08, run 13911 job 31183: 13 files / 97
+      # tests PASSED, 1 file / 2 tests skipped → FATAL anyway.
+      #
+      # It survived review because it is correct locally: redirecting to a
+      # file disables vitest's colour, so the pattern matches on a developer
+      # machine and only misfires under CI.
+      #
+      # Replaced with the JSON reporter — structured and colourless. A/B
+      # measured on real reports, BOTH directions:
+      #   all-skipped (0 passed / 99 pending) → RED   (protection preserved)
+      #   945 passed + 184 skipped            → GREEN (false red removed)
       - name: Integration tests against LIVE OpenSearch + ClickHouse (blocking)
         run: |
           set -eu
-          # Guard: env MUST be present here — the suites self-skip without it,
-          # and a skipped suite must never masquerade as a green integration
-          # gate (Master-DoD §56 status honesty).
+          # Env MUST be present here — the suites self-skip without it, and a
+          # skipped suite must never masquerade as a green integration gate
+          # (Master-DoD §56 status honesty).
           [ -n "${OPENSEARCH_URL:-}" ] && [ -n "${CLICKHOUSE_URL:-}" ]
-          pnpm vitest run tests/integration 2>&1 | tee /tmp/itest.log
-          if grep -qE "skipped" /tmp/itest.log && ! grep -qE "Tests  [0-9]+ passed" /tmp/itest.log; then
-            echo "FATAL: integration suites skipped instead of running"; exit 1
-          fi
+          pnpm vitest run tests/integration \
+            --reporter=default \
+            --reporter=json --outputFile.json=/tmp/itest.json
+          node -e '
+            const fs = require("fs");
+            const p = "/tmp/itest.json";
+            if (!fs.existsSync(p)) {
+              console.error("FATAL: vitest produced no JSON report"); process.exit(1);
+            }
+            const r = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(p, "utf8"));
+            console.log(`integration: ${r.numPassedTests} passed, ${r.numPendingTests} skipped, ${r.numFailedTests} failed, ${r.numTotalTests} total`);
+            if (r.numFailedTests > 0) {
+              console.error("FATAL: integration tests failed"); process.exit(1);
+            }
+            if (r.numPassedTests === 0) {
+              console.error("FATAL: no integration test actually executed — every suite skipped");
+              process.exit(1);
+            }
+          '
 
   # BLOCKING. This job publishes the protected-branch status check context
   # "CI (SIAX Cloud) / security (push)", which branch protection on `main`