diff --git a/cmake/tests-plan-shipped.cmake b/cmake/tests-plan-shipped.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f16e41634
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/tests-plan-shipped.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Copyright 2026 bong-water-water-bong
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+# engine#799: the plans checked in under configs/plans/ were loaded by nothing. docs/npu-plan.md says
+# `tools/npu_plan.py <dir> --check` proves a directory's copy still matches - true, and it needs the model
+# directory, which CI has not. So the shipped plans had no gate: a hand edit or a generator change could leave one
+# refused by Plan::load() and the first evidence would be a lane loading it on the box.
+#
+# This loads each one through the same loader the forward uses. No model, no device, no pack.
+add_executable(npu_plan_shipped_test tests/npu_plan_shipped_test.cpp)
+target_include_directories(npu_plan_shipped_test PRIVATE npu)
+target_link_libraries(npu_plan_shipped_test PRIVATE nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json)
+add_test(NAME npu_plan_shipped
+         COMMAND npu_plan_shipped_test ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/configs/plans)
+add_dependencies(onebit npu_plan_shipped_test)
diff --git a/tests/npu_plan_shipped_test.cpp b/tests/npu_plan_shipped_test.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4f963b66a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/npu_plan_shipped_test.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+// Copyright 2026 bong-water-water-bong
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+// engine#799: the plans checked in under configs/plans/ are reference artefacts, and nothing loaded them.
+//
+// `docs/npu-plan.md` says four plans are checked in "one per model directory on the build box", and that
+// `tools/npu_plan.py <dir> --check` proves a directory's copy still matches - which is true, and which needs the
+// model directory. CI has no packs, so the shipped plans had no gate at all: a hand edit, or a generator change,
+// could leave one refused by `Plan::load()` and the first evidence would be a lane loading it on the box.
+//
+// This loads each shipped plan through the SAME loader the forward uses, so the refusal vocabulary is the real
+// one (PlanError, "1bit-npu-plan/1"), not a JSON schema written twice. It needs no model, no device and no pack.
+//
+// What it does NOT prove: that a plan still matches its model directory (that is `--check`, and it needs the
+// pack), or that a plan is *right* - only that it is one the engine can read.
+
+#include "plan/plan.h"
+
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <filesystem>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace {
+
+int bad = 0;
+
+void check(bool ok, const std::string& what) {
+    std::printf("%s %s\n", ok ? "ok  " : "FAIL", what.c_str());
+    if (!ok) ++bad;
+}
+
+}  // namespace
+
+int main(int argc, char** argv) {
+    namespace fs = std::filesystem;
+    const fs::path dir = argc > 1 ? fs::path(argv[1]) : fs::path("configs/plans");
+    std::vector<fs::path> plans;
+    std::error_code ec;
+    for (const auto& e : fs::directory_iterator(dir, ec)) {
+        if (ec) break;
+        if (e.is_regular_file() && e.path().extension() == ".json") plans.push_back(e.path());
+    }
+    if (!plans.empty()) std::sort(plans.begin(), plans.end());
+
+    // An empty directory is not a pass: it means the path is wrong (a test run from a build dir), and a suite that
+    // passed over zero plans would be the vacuous green this whole test exists to prevent.
+    check(!ec && !plans.empty(),
+          "the shipped plans directory holds at least one .json (" + dir.string() + (ec ? ": " + ec.message() : "") + ")");
+    if (plans.empty()) { std::printf("npu_plan_shipped: FAIL\n"); return 1; }
+
+    for (const auto& p : plans) {
+        const std::string name = p.filename().string();
+        try {
+            const auto plan = onebit::npu::plan::Plan::load(p.string());
+            check(plan.layers > 0, name + ": loads through Plan::load() with " + std::to_string(plan.layers) + " layer(s)");
+            // The loader sets `format` to kFormat when it accepts the file; asserting it here means a future
+            // format bump has to touch this test as well, rather than silently accepting the old plans.
+            check(plan.format == onebit::npu::plan::kFormat, name + ": carries the format this build reads");
+        } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+            check(false, name + ": REFUSED by Plan::load(): " + e.what());
+        }
+    }
+
+    std::printf("npu_plan_shipped: %s\n", bad ? "FAIL" : "ok");
+    return bad ? 1 : 0;
+}