diff --git a/terminal/menus/mq-main-menu.sh b/terminal/menus/mq-main-menu.sh
index 26337a1..5fc477e 100755
--- a/terminal/menus/mq-main-menu.sh
+++ b/terminal/menus/mq-main-menu.sh
@@ -182,17 +182,6 @@ surface_compact_dual_figure_row() {
     "$C_RESET"
 }
 
-# Formats git state for the compact terminal surface.
-surface_git_state() {
-  local count
-  count="$(git status --porcelain 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
-  if [[ -z "$count" || "$count" == "0" ]]; then
-    printf "Clean"
-  else
-    printf "Dirty (%s)" "$count"
-  fi
-}
-
 # Renders the command surface view for terminal output.
 render_command_surface() {
   local USER_NAME HOST_NAME TIME SURFACE_COLOR FIGURE_COLOR ALT_FIGURE_COLOR width git_state tip activity system_state
diff --git a/terminal/menus/mq-release-menu.sh b/terminal/menus/mq-release-menu.sh
index 23f5a81..95f5412 100755
--- a/terminal/menus/mq-release-menu.sh
+++ b/terminal/menus/mq-release-menu.sh
@@ -243,11 +243,19 @@ show_release_status() {
   row_bold "RELEASE STATUS"
   empty_row
 
+  local snapshot change_count state severity next_action
+  snapshot="$(mq_git_status_snapshot "$RELEASE_REPO")"
+  change_count="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f4)"
+  state="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f5)"
+  severity="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f6)"
+  next_action="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f7)"
+
   row "Repo:            $RELEASE_REPO"
   row "Current version: $(current_version)"
   row "Latest tag:      $(latest_tag || true)"
-  row "Release script:  $RELEASE_SCRIPT"
-  row "Changelog:       $CHANGELOG_FILE"
+  row "Working tree:    $state ($change_count changes)"
+  row "Severity:        $severity"
+  row "Next action:     $next_action"
 
   print_footer
   pause_enter
@@ -697,19 +705,72 @@ auto_release() {
   pause_enter
 }
 
-# Returns a one-line status string for the menu footer.
+# Returns a compact status string for the menu footer.
 release_status_line() {
-  local files_status
+  local files_status snapshot change_count
   files_status="$(_release_files_status)"
   case "$files_status" in
     missing:*)
-      printf 'not initialized — missing: %s  →  run option 3' "${files_status#missing:}"
+      printf 'not initialized'
       ;;
     not_executable)
-      printf 'release.sh not executable  →  run option 3'
+      printf 'release.sh not executable'
+      ;;
+    *)
+      snapshot="$(mq_git_status_snapshot "$RELEASE_REPO")"
+      change_count="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f4)"
+      if (( change_count > 0 )); then
+        printf 'blocked — dirty (%s)' "$change_count"
+      else
+        printf 'ready (v%s)' "$(current_version)"
+      fi
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+# Returns release status detail for the menu footer.
+release_status_detail() {
+  local files_status missing_files snapshot change_count severity
+  files_status="$(_release_files_status)"
+  case "$files_status" in
+    missing:*)
+      missing_files="${files_status#missing:}"
+      missing_files="${missing_files//,/ , }"
+      missing_files="${missing_files// ,/,}"
+      printf 'Missing: %s' "$missing_files"
+      ;;
+    not_executable)
+      printf 'Script: %s' "$RELEASE_SCRIPT"
+      ;;
+    *)
+      snapshot="$(mq_git_status_snapshot "$RELEASE_REPO")"
+      change_count="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f4)"
+      severity="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f6)"
+      if (( change_count > 0 )); then
+        printf 'Severity: %s — review or stash changes before release' "$severity"
+      else
+        printf 'Latest tag: %s' "$(latest_tag || true)"
+      fi
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+# Returns the next recommended release menu action.
+release_status_next() {
+  local files_status snapshot change_count
+  files_status="$(_release_files_status)"
+  case "$files_status" in
+    missing:*|not_executable)
+      printf 'Next: 3. Initialize files'
       ;;
     *)
-      printf 'ready  (v%s)' "$(current_version)"
+      snapshot="$(mq_git_status_snapshot "$RELEASE_REPO")"
+      change_count="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f4)"
+      if (( change_count > 0 )); then
+        printf 'Next: 1. Review status'
+      else
+        printf 'Next: 4. Dry run release'
+      fi
       ;;
   esac
 }
@@ -757,7 +818,9 @@ print_release_menu() {
   surface_split_row "7. View changelog" "8. Show latest tags" "$width" "$panel_color"
   surface_split_row "9. Open changelog" "10. Open release script" "$width" "$panel_color"
   surface_row "" "$width" "$panel_color"
-  surface_row "Status: $(release_status_line)" "$width" "$panel_color"
+  surface_row "STATUS" "$width" "$panel_color"
+  surface_split_row "Status: $(release_status_line)" "$(release_status_next)" "$width" "$panel_color"
+  surface_row "$(release_status_detail)" "$width" "$panel_color"
   surface_bottom "$width" "$panel_color"
   printf '\n'
 }
diff --git a/tests/git-status-contract-smoke.sh b/tests/git-status-contract-smoke.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e2e9fd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/git-status-contract-smoke.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+TMP_REPO="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$TMP_REPO"' EXIT
+
+fail() {
+  printf '[FAIL] %s\n' "$1" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+pass() {
+  printf '[PASS] %s\n' "$1"
+}
+
+git -C "$TMP_REPO" init -q
+git -C "$TMP_REPO" config user.name "MQ Test"
+git -C "$TMP_REPO" config user.email "mq-test@example.invalid"
+printf 'base\n' > "$TMP_REPO/tracked.txt"
+git -C "$TMP_REPO" add tracked.txt
+git -C "$TMP_REPO" commit -qm "base"
+
+mkdir -p "$TMP_REPO/generated"
+printf 'one\n' > "$TMP_REPO/generated/one.txt"
+printf 'two\n' > "$TMP_REPO/generated/two.txt"
+printf 'three\n' > "$TMP_REPO/generated/three.txt"
+printf 'changed\n' >> "$TMP_REPO/tracked.txt"
+
+# shellcheck disable=SC1090
+source "$ROOT/ui/terminal-ui/mq-ui.sh"
+snapshot="$(mq_git_status_snapshot "$TMP_REPO")"
+[[ "$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f1)" == "0" ]] || fail "staged count"
+[[ "$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f2)" == "1" ]] || fail "unstaged count"
+[[ "$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f3)" == "1" ]] || fail "untracked directory count"
+[[ "$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f4)" == "2" ]] || fail "canonical change count"
+[[ "$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f5)" == "DIRTY" ]] || fail "dirty state"
+[[ "$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f6)" == "LOW" ]] || fail "dirty severity"
+[[ "$(surface_git_state "$TMP_REPO")" == "Dirty (2)" ]] || fail "surface state"
+pass "shared Git snapshot uses porcelain entries"
+
+zsh_snapshot="$(zsh -c 'source "$1"; mq_git_status_snapshot "$2"' _ "$ROOT/ui/terminal-ui/mq-ui.sh" "$TMP_REPO")"
+[[ "$(printf '%s' "$zsh_snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f4)" == "2" ]] || fail "zsh snapshot"
+pass "shared Git snapshot works in zsh"
+
+MACOS_SCRIPTS_HOME="$ROOT"
+# shellcheck disable=SC1090
+source "$ROOT/terminal/menus/mq-release-menu.sh"
+RELEASE_REPO="$TMP_REPO"
+printf '1.0.0\n' > "$TMP_REPO/VERSION"
+printf '# Changelog\n' > "$TMP_REPO/CHANGELOG.md"
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\n' > "$TMP_REPO/release.sh"
+chmod +x "$TMP_REPO/release.sh"
+refresh_release_paths
+
+[[ "$(release_status_line)" == "blocked — dirty (5)" ]] || fail "release blocked count"
+[[ "$(release_status_next)" == "Next: 1. Review status" ]] || fail "release next action"
+pass "release footer blocks dirty repositories"
+
+git -C "$TMP_REPO" add -A
+git -C "$TMP_REPO" commit -qm "clean"
+[[ "$(release_status_line)" == "ready (v1.0.0)" ]] || fail "clean release status"
+pass "release footer reports clean repositories ready"
+
+dashboard="$( (cd "$TMP_REPO" && MACOS_SCRIPTS_HOME="$ROOT" bash "$ROOT/ui/ascii/mqlaunch-dashboard-v7.1.sh") 2>&1)"
+printf '%s\n' "$dashboard" | grep -q 'DIRTY    0 files' && fail "dashboard unexpectedly dirty"
+pass "dashboard consumes shared Git snapshot"
+
+printf 'OK: shared Git/release status contract passed\n'
diff --git a/tools/scripts/test-all.sh b/tools/scripts/test-all.sh
index b153d55..fe8971b 100755
--- a/tools/scripts/test-all.sh
+++ b/tools/scripts/test-all.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ echo "== Running mqlaunch legacy/bridge checks =="
 echo
 echo "== Running mqlaunch headless checks =="
 "$PROJECT_ROOT/tests/headless-smoke.sh"
+"$PROJECT_ROOT/tests/git-status-contract-smoke.sh"
 
 echo
 echo "== Running HAL menu checks =="
diff --git a/ui/ascii/mqlaunch-dashboard-v7.1.sh b/ui/ascii/mqlaunch-dashboard-v7.1.sh
index 862ae88..98fb616 100755
--- a/ui/ascii/mqlaunch-dashboard-v7.1.sh
+++ b/ui/ascii/mqlaunch-dashboard-v7.1.sh
@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ ACCENT_YELLOW="${C_YELLOW}"
 ACCENT_RED="${C_RED}"
 ACCENT_DIM="${C_DIM}"
 
+_MQ_DASHBOARD_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+_MQ_DASHBOARD_ROOT="$(cd "$_MQ_DASHBOARD_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
+_MQ_DASHBOARD_UI="$_MQ_DASHBOARD_ROOT/ui/terminal-ui/mq-ui.sh"
+if [[ -f "$_MQ_DASHBOARD_UI" ]]; then
+  # shellcheck disable=SC1090
+  source "$_MQ_DASHBOARD_UI"
+fi
+
 # Handles mq strip ansi.
 mq_strip_ansi() {
   printf '%s' "$1" | perl -pe 's/\e\[[0-9;]*m//g'
@@ -394,7 +402,7 @@ mqlaunch_dashboard_v71() {
   local width compact
   local mode_color state_color severity severity_color
   local user host now shell_name os_name cwd repo branch dirty counts staged unstaged untracked ahead_behind
-  local total_changes next_action workspace_summary
+  local snapshot total_changes next_action workspace_summary
   local mem_widget batt_widget bar_max
 
   width="$(mq_term_width)"
@@ -409,11 +417,14 @@ mqlaunch_dashboard_v71() {
   cwd="$(mq_cwd)"
   repo="$(mq_git_repo)"
   branch="$(mq_git_branch)"
-  dirty="$(mq_git_dirty_state)"
-  counts="$(mq_git_counts)"
-  staged="$(printf '%s' "$counts" | cut -d'|' -f1)"
-  unstaged="$(printf '%s' "$counts" | cut -d'|' -f2)"
-  untracked="$(printf '%s' "$counts" | cut -d'|' -f3)"
+  snapshot="$(mq_git_status_snapshot "$cwd")"
+  staged="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f1)"
+  unstaged="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f2)"
+  untracked="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f3)"
+  total_changes="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f4)"
+  dirty="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f5)"
+  severity="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f6)"
+  next_action="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f7)"
   ahead_behind="$(mq_git_ahead_behind)"
   mem_widget="$(mq_memory_widget)"
   batt_widget="$(mq_battery_widget)"
@@ -424,11 +435,11 @@ mqlaunch_dashboard_v71() {
 
   bar_max=$(( staged + unstaged + untracked ))
   (( bar_max < 5 )) && bar_max=5
-  total_changes=$(( staged + unstaged + untracked ))
 
-  severity="$(mq_dirty_severity "$staged" "$unstaged" "$untracked")"
   severity_color="$(mq_dirty_severity_color "$severity")"
-  next_action="$(mq_git_next_action "$staged" "$unstaged" "$untracked" "$ahead_behind")"
+  if (( total_changes == 0 )); then
+    next_action="$(mq_git_next_action "$staged" "$unstaged" "$untracked" "$ahead_behind")"
+  fi
 
   mode_color="$(mq_mode_color "$mode")"
   state_color="$(mq_state_color "$dirty")"
diff --git a/ui/terminal-ui/mq-ui.sh b/ui/terminal-ui/mq-ui.sh
index ca71cb4..a722fda 100644
--- a/ui/terminal-ui/mq-ui.sh
+++ b/ui/terminal-ui/mq-ui.sh
@@ -125,13 +125,64 @@ surface_split_row() {
     "$C_RESET"
 }
 
+# Returns the canonical Git status snapshot used by mqlaunch surfaces.
+# Format: staged|unstaged|untracked|changes|state|severity|next_action
+mq_git_status_snapshot() {
+  local repo="${1:-.}"
+  local porcelain staged unstaged untracked changes state severity next_action
+
+  if ! git -C "$repo" rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    printf '0|0|0|0|NO_REPO|UNKNOWN|Open a Git repository'
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  porcelain="$(git -C "$repo" status --porcelain=v1 --untracked-files=normal 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  staged="$(printf '%s\n' "$porcelain" | awk 'length($0) >= 2 && substr($0, 1, 1) != " " && substr($0, 1, 1) != "?" {count++} END {print count + 0}')"
+  unstaged="$(printf '%s\n' "$porcelain" | awk 'length($0) >= 2 && substr($0, 1, 2) != "??" && substr($0, 2, 1) != " " {count++} END {print count + 0}')"
+  untracked="$(printf '%s\n' "$porcelain" | awk 'substr($0, 1, 2) == "??" {count++} END {print count + 0}')"
+  changes="$(printf '%s\n' "$porcelain" | awk 'length($0) >= 2 {count++} END {print count + 0}')"
+
+  if (( changes == 0 )); then
+    state="CLEAN"
+    severity="STABLE"
+    next_action="Nothing to commit"
+  else
+    state="DIRTY"
+    if (( changes <= 2 )); then
+      severity="LOW"
+    elif (( changes <= 6 )); then
+      severity="MEDIUM"
+    elif (( changes <= 12 )); then
+      severity="HIGH"
+    else
+      severity="CRITICAL"
+    fi
+
+    if (( unstaged > 0 || untracked > 0 )); then
+      next_action="Review diff, then stage selected files"
+    elif (( staged > 0 )); then
+      next_action="Commit staged changes"
+    else
+      next_action="Review git status"
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  printf '%s|%s|%s|%s|%s|%s|%s' \
+    "$staged" "$unstaged" "$untracked" "$changes" "$state" "$severity" "$next_action"
+}
+
 # Handles surface git state.
 surface_git_state() {
-  local count
-  count="$(git status --porcelain 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+  local repo="${1:-.}"
+  local snapshot count state
+  snapshot="$(mq_git_status_snapshot "$repo")"
+  count="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f4)"
+  state="$(printf '%s' "$snapshot" | cut -d'|' -f5)"
 
-  if [[ -z "$count" || "$count" == "0" ]]; then
+  if [[ "$state" == "CLEAN" ]]; then
     printf "Clean"
+  elif [[ "$state" == "NO_REPO" ]]; then
+    printf "No Git"
   else
     printf "Dirty (%s)" "$count"
   fi