diff --git a/hooks/bestwork-requirement-check.sh b/hooks/bestwork-requirement-check.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e6a6be0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hooks/bestwork-requirement-check.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# bestwork requirement check — PostToolUse on Write|Edit
+# Checks clarify/validate state files for unmet requirements
+# Outputs warning if requirements are not yet covered
+
+INPUT=$(cat)
+TOOL=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.tool_name // ""')
+
+# Defensive: hooks.json matcher already filters, but guard here too
+case "$TOOL" in
+  Edit|Write) ;;
+  *) echo '{}'; exit 0 ;;
+esac
+
+PROJECT_ROOT=$(pwd)
+BESTWORK_STATE="${PROJECT_ROOT}/.bestwork/state"
+STATS_FILE="${BESTWORK_STATE}/harness-stats.json"
+
+# Initialize stats file if missing or malformed
+if [ ! -f "$STATS_FILE" ] || ! jq empty "$STATS_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
+  mkdir -p "$BESTWORK_STATE"
+  echo '{"checksRun":0,"warningsIssued":0,"requirementsMet":0,"requirementsMissed":0,"lastUpdated":""}' > "$STATS_FILE"
+fi
+
+# NOTE: increment_stat uses read-modify-write without locking.
+# Stats are informational (not gating), so occasional lost increments
+# under concurrent Write/Edit are accepted. flock is not portable to macOS.
+increment_stat() {
+  local key="$1"
+  local val
+  val=$(jq -r ".$key" "$STATS_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
+  [ -z "$val" ] || [ "$val" = "null" ] && val=0
+  val=$((val + 1))
+  local tmp
+  tmp=$(mktemp)
+  jq --arg k "$key" --argjson v "$val" --arg ts "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
+    '.[$k] = $v | .lastUpdated = $ts' "$STATS_FILE" > "$tmp" && mv "$tmp" "$STATS_FILE"
+}
+
+# Track that we ran a check
+increment_stat "checksRun"
+
+WARNINGS=""
+
+# === Check clarify state ===
+CLARIFY_FILE="${BESTWORK_STATE}/clarify.json"
+if [ -f "$CLARIFY_FILE" ]; then
+  STATUS=$(jq -r '.status // ""' "$CLARIFY_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
+  if [ "$STATUS" = "complete" ]; then
+    OPEN_GAPS=$(jq -r '(.openGaps // []) | length' "$CLARIFY_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
+    if [ "$OPEN_GAPS" -gt 0 ] 2>/dev/null; then
+      GAP_LIST=$(jq -r '(.openGaps // []) | join(", ")' "$CLARIFY_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
+      WARNINGS="${WARNINGS}[BW gate] clarify: ${OPEN_GAPS} open gap(s) remaining — ${GAP_LIST}\n"
+      increment_stat "requirementsMissed"
+    else
+      increment_stat "requirementsMet"
+    fi
+  fi
+fi
+
+# === Check validate state ===
+VALIDATE_FILE="${BESTWORK_STATE}/validate.json"
+if [ -f "$VALIDATE_FILE" ]; then
+  STATUS=$(jq -r '.status // ""' "$VALIDATE_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
+  if [ "$STATUS" = "complete" ]; then
+    VERDICT=$(jq -r '.verdict // ""' "$VALIDATE_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
+    OVERALL=$(jq -r '(.scores.overall // 0)' "$VALIDATE_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
+    case "$VERDICT" in
+      REJECTED)
+        WARNINGS="${WARNINGS}[BW gate] validate: REJECTED (${OVERALL}%) — building a feature that failed validation\n"
+        increment_stat "requirementsMissed"
+        ;;
+      WEAK)
+        WARNINGS="${WARNINGS}[BW gate] validate: WEAK (${OVERALL}%) — thin evidence for this feature\n"
+        increment_stat "requirementsMissed"
+        ;;
+      CONDITIONAL)
+        # Info only, not a hard warning
+        increment_stat "requirementsMet"
+        ;;
+      VALIDATED)
+        increment_stat "requirementsMet"
+        ;;
+    esac
+  fi
+fi
+
+# === Output ===
+if [ -n "$WARNINGS" ]; then
+  increment_stat "warningsIssued"
+  CONTEXT=$(printf '%s' "$WARNINGS" | sed '/^$/d')
+  jq -n --arg ctx "$CONTEXT" \
+    '{"hookSpecificOutput":{"hookEventName":"PostToolUse","additionalContext":$ctx}}'
+else
+  echo '{}'
+fi
diff --git a/hooks/hooks.json b/hooks/hooks.json
index 507828f..a98a12b 100644
--- a/hooks/hooks.json
+++ b/hooks/hooks.json
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@
             "type": "agent",
             "prompt": "You are bestwork's validation agent. A file was just modified via $ARGUMENTS.\nCheck for:\n1. TypeScript errors: run `npx tsc --noEmit` and report any errors in the changed file\n2. If the file imports modules, verify the imports actually exist (grep for them)\nDo NOT fix anything. Only report issues concisely (under 3 lines). If no issues, say nothing.",
             "timeout": 30
+          },
+          {
+            "type": "command",
+            "command": "bash \"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/bestwork-requirement-check.sh\"",
+            "timeout": 5
           }
         ]
       }