diff --git a/packages/cultnet-ts/src/content.ts b/packages/cultnet-ts/src/content.ts
index 7e9ba6ba..8474c396 100644
--- a/packages/cultnet-ts/src/content.ts
+++ b/packages/cultnet-ts/src/content.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 import { encode } from "@msgpack/msgpack";
 import { checkPayloadDepth } from "@gamecult/cultcache-ts/document";
 import { isNullOrWhiteSpaceCSharp, trimCSharp } from "./cultmesh-authority";
+import { wellFormed } from "./utf8-bound";
 
 export const CULTMESH_CDN_MANIFEST_SCHEMA = "gamecult.mesh.cdn_artifact_manifest.v1";
 export const DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES = 4 * 1024 * 1024;
@@ -125,15 +126,18 @@ const mapHeader = (count: number): Uint8Array =>
     : count < 0x10000 ? Uint8Array.of(0xde, count >> 8, count & 0xff)
       : Uint8Array.of(0xdf, count >>> 24, (count >> 16) & 0xff, (count >> 8) & 0xff, count & 0xff);
 
+/** A string slot is written as C# writes it: a lone surrogate has no UTF-8 encoding and becomes U+FFFD at every length. */
+const text = <T>(field: T): T => (typeof field === "string" ? wellFormed(field) : field) as T;
+
 /** The positional ten-array of the C# `[MessagePackObject]`: chunk references are four-arrays, metadata a map in entry order. */
 export function encodeManifest(manifest: CultMeshCdnArtifactManifest): Uint8Array {
   const { artifactId, kind, version, contentHash, sizeBytes, mimeType, createdAtUtc, chunks, tags, metadata } = manifest;
   return concat([
     Uint8Array.of(0x9a),
-    ...[artifactId, kind, version, contentHash, sizeBytes, mimeType, createdAtUtc].map(field => encode(field)),
-    encode(chunks.map(c => [c.chunkHash, c.offset, c.sizeBytes, c.recordKey])),
-    encode(tags),
-    ...(metadata === null ? [encode(null)] : [mapHeader(metadata.length), ...metadata.flatMap(([key, value]) => [encode(key), encode(value)])]),
+    ...[artifactId, kind, version, contentHash, sizeBytes, mimeType, createdAtUtc].map(field => encode(text(field))),
+    encode(chunks.map(c => [text(c.chunkHash), c.offset, c.sizeBytes, text(c.recordKey)])),
+    encode(tags === null ? null : tags.map(text)),
+    ...(metadata === null ? [encode(null)] : [mapHeader(metadata.length), ...metadata.flatMap(([key, value]) => [encode(text(key)), encode(text(value))])]),
   ]);
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/cultnet-ts/src/utf8-bound.ts b/packages/cultnet-ts/src/utf8-bound.ts
index d21ee849..008c1657 100644
--- a/packages/cultnet-ts/src/utf8-bound.ts
+++ b/packages/cultnet-ts/src/utf8-bound.ts
@@ -8,13 +8,18 @@
  * A value is therefore in bounds exactly when this returns it unchanged.
  */
 export function truncateUtf8Bytes(value: string, maxBytes: number): string {
-  const wellFormed = (value as string & { toWellFormed(): string }).toWellFormed();
+  const text = wellFormed(value);
   let bytes = 0;
   let end = 0;
-  for (const char of wellFormed) {
+  for (const char of text) {
     bytes += Buffer.byteLength(char, "utf8");
     if (bytes > maxBytes) break;
     end += char.length;
   }
-  return wellFormed.slice(0, end);
+  return text.slice(0, end);
+}
+
+/** `value` with every lone surrogate replaced by U+FFFD: the one spelling every TypeScript writer puts on a wire. */
+export function wellFormed(value: string): string {
+  return (value as string & { toWellFormed(): string }).toWellFormed();
 }
diff --git a/packages/cultnet-ts/test/content.test.ts b/packages/cultnet-ts/test/content.test.ts
index 490eec9d..807764fa 100644
--- a/packages/cultnet-ts/test/content.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cultnet-ts/test/content.test.ts
@@ -389,3 +389,28 @@ test("a refusal names its true cause", () => {
   refuses(Uint8Array.of(0x91, 0xa3, 0x41), /ends before its last field/);
   refuses(Uint8Array.from([0x9b, ...wire().slice(1), 0xc1]), /field 'manifest' has the wrong type/);
 });
+
+test("a lone surrogate is written as U+FFFD at every string length, short and long alike, in every string slot", async () => {
+  const base = (await packContent("x", Uint8Array.of(1, 2, 3), { createdAtUtc: "2026-09-22T00:00:00.0000000+00:00" })).manifest;
+  // @msgpack/msgpack switches encoders past 50 UTF-16 units; the reference writes U+FFFD on both sides of that line.
+  for (const length of [1, 2, 16, 31, 32, 49, 50, 51, 52, 64, 200]) {
+    for (const [lone, replaced] of [["\ud800", "\ufffd"], ["\udfff", "\ufffd"]]) {
+      const filler = "a".repeat(length - 1);
+      const bad = `${filler}${lone}`;
+      const good = `${filler}${replaced}`;
+      const withText = (value: string): CultMeshCdnArtifactManifest => ({
+        ...base,
+        artifactId: value, kind: value, version: value, mimeType: value, createdAtUtc: value,
+        chunks: [{ ...base.chunks[0]!, recordKey: value }],
+        tags: [value],
+        metadata: [[value, value]],
+      });
+      const bytes = encodeManifest(withText(bad));
+      assert.deepEqual(bytes, encodeManifest(withText(good)), `length ${length}`);
+      assert.ok(!bytes.some((b, i) => b === 0xed && bytes[i + 1]! >= 0xa0 && bytes[i + 1]! <= 0xbf), `no CESU surrogate bytes at length ${length}`);
+      assert.equal(decodeManifest(bytes).artifactId, good, `length ${length} reads back as written`);
+    }
+  }
+  const packed = await packContent(`a${"b".repeat(60)}\ud800`, Uint8Array.of(1), { kind: "k\udc00", createdAtUtc: "2026-09-22T00:00:00.0000000+00:00" });
+  assert.equal(decodeManifest(encodeManifest(packed.manifest)).kind, "k\ufffd");
+});