diff --git a/examples/app-showcase/src/objects/index.ts b/examples/app-showcase/src/objects/index.ts
index 9be96ed97a..9b2f2b558b 100644
--- a/examples/app-showcase/src/objects/index.ts
+++ b/examples/app-showcase/src/objects/index.ts
@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@ export { PrivateNote } from './private-note.object.js';
 export { Announcement } from './announcement.object.js';
 export { Inquiry } from './inquiry.object.js';
 export { Contact } from './contact.object.js';
+export { SemanticZoo, SemanticZooLegacy } from './semantic-zoo.object.js';
diff --git a/examples/app-showcase/src/objects/semantic-zoo.object.ts b/examples/app-showcase/src/objects/semantic-zoo.object.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fc245ea036
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/app-showcase/src/objects/semantic-zoo.object.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+
+/**
+ * Semantic-role zoo — runtime regression fixtures for the ADR-0085 object
+ * semantic roles (`highlightFields` / `stageField` / `fieldGroups.collapse`),
+ * in the spirit of `showcase_field_zoo` (#2005): the roles are only
+ * *static*-checked by the spec suite; these two objects prove the SERVED
+ * pipeline (defineStack → artifact → register → REST serialization) neither
+ * strips nor mangles them. Guarded by
+ * `packages/dogfood/test/semantic-roles.dogfood.test.ts`.
+ *
+ * Two objects because the alias runs both directions:
+ *  - `SemanticZoo` authors the CANONICAL spellings (highlightFields,
+ *    stageField: 'status', collapse enum) — served meta must also carry the
+ *    deprecated `compactLayout` mirror for pre-11.7 renderers.
+ *  - `SemanticZooLegacy` authors the DEPRECATED spelling (compactLayout) and
+ *    `stageField: false` — served meta must carry the canonical
+ *    `highlightFields`, and `false` must survive (it is the only "stop
+ *    guessing" signal; a falsy-check regression turns the stepper back on).
+ */
+import { ObjectSchema, Field } from '@objectstack/spec/data';
+
+export const SemanticZoo = ObjectSchema.create({
+  name: 'showcase_semantic_zoo',
+  label: 'Semantic Zoo',
+  pluralLabel: 'Semantic Zoos',
+  icon: 'flask-conical',
+  description: 'ADR-0085 semantic-role runtime fixture (canonical spellings)',
+
+  fields: {
+    name: Field.text({ label: 'Name', required: true }),
+    status: Field.select({
+      label: 'Status',
+      options: [
+        { label: 'Draft', value: 'draft', default: true },
+        { label: 'Active', value: 'active' },
+        { label: 'Done', value: 'done' },
+      ],
+      group: 'basics',
+    }),
+    amount: Field.number({ label: 'Amount', group: 'money' }),
+    notes: Field.textarea({ label: 'Notes' }),
+  },
+
+  highlightFields: ['name', 'status', 'amount'],
+  stageField: 'status',
+  fieldGroups: [
+    { key: 'basics', label: 'Basics' },
+    { key: 'money', label: 'Money', collapse: 'collapsed' },
+  ],
+});
+
+export const SemanticZooLegacy = ObjectSchema.create({
+  name: 'showcase_semantic_zoo_legacy',
+  label: 'Semantic Zoo (Legacy)',
+  pluralLabel: 'Semantic Zoo Legacies',
+  icon: 'flask-round',
+  description: 'ADR-0085 semantic-role runtime fixture (deprecated spellings)',
+
+  fields: {
+    name: Field.text({ label: 'Name', required: true }),
+    // Named `status` ON PURPOSE: the stepper heuristic would pick it up —
+    // `stageField: false` below is what keeps it suppressed.
+    status: Field.select({
+      label: 'Status',
+      options: [
+        { label: 'Red', value: 'red', default: true },
+        { label: 'Green', value: 'green' },
+      ],
+    }),
+    amount: Field.number({ label: 'Amount' }),
+  },
+
+  // Deprecated alias on purpose — must surface as highlightFields when served.
+  compactLayout: ['name', 'amount'],
+  // This status is a color, not a lifecycle.
+  stageField: false,
+});
diff --git a/packages/dogfood/test/semantic-roles.dogfood.test.ts b/packages/dogfood/test/semantic-roles.dogfood.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..03e9a9f49f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/dogfood/test/semantic-roles.dogfood.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+//
+// ADR-0085 semantic roles — runtime proof over the SERVED pipeline.
+//
+// @proof: semantic-roles-served
+// The object semantic roles (`highlightFields` / `stageField` /
+// `fieldGroups.collapse`) are exhaustively unit-tested at parse time in
+// `@objectstack/spec`, but a parse-level green says nothing about the pipeline
+// a real renderer consumes: defineStack → artifact → registry → REST
+// serialization. That pipeline is exactly where the pre-ADR-0085 dialects
+// silently died (spec-authored `defaultExpanded` never reached the form;
+// `views.form.sections` never existed at all), and where a serializer
+// whitelist or a boot-cached merge can strip a key without any static check
+// noticing. These assertions run against the real Hono app over HTTP.
+//
+// Fixtures: `showcase_semantic_zoo` (canonical spellings) and
+// `showcase_semantic_zoo_legacy` (deprecated spellings) in
+// `examples/app-showcase/src/objects/semantic-zoo.object.ts`.
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
+import showcaseStack from '@objectstack/example-showcase';
+import { bootStack, type VerifyStack } from '@objectstack/verify';
+import { deriveFieldGroupLayout } from '@objectstack/spec/data';
+
+let stack: VerifyStack;
+let token: string;
+
+async function servedObject(name: string): Promise<Record<string, any>> {
+  const res = await stack.apiAs(token, 'GET', `/meta/objects/${name}`);
+  expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+  const body = await res.json();
+  return (body as any).data ?? body;
+}
+
+beforeAll(async () => {
+  stack = await bootStack(showcaseStack);
+  token = await stack.signIn();
+});
+
+afterAll(async () => {
+  await stack?.stop();
+});
+
+describe('ADR-0085 semantic roles survive the served pipeline', () => {
+  it('canonical spellings are served verbatim, with the compactLayout transition mirror', async () => {
+    const def = await servedObject('showcase_semantic_zoo');
+
+    expect(def.highlightFields).toEqual(['name', 'status', 'amount']);
+    // Transition mirror for pre-11.7 renderers (ObjectGrid & friends read the
+    // old spelling). Deliberately asserted: when the deprecated alias is
+    // retired, this expectation is DELETED IN THE SAME PR — a red here after
+    // that removal means the retirement missed a consumer.
+    expect(def.compactLayout).toEqual(['name', 'status', 'amount']);
+
+    expect(def.stageField).toBe('status');
+
+    expect(def.fieldGroups).toEqual([
+      { key: 'basics', label: 'Basics', collapse: 'none' },
+      { key: 'money', label: 'Money', collapse: 'collapsed' },
+    ]);
+    expect(def.fields?.status?.group).toBe('basics');
+    expect(def.fields?.amount?.group).toBe('money');
+  });
+
+  it('deprecated spellings alias onto the canonical keys when served', async () => {
+    const def = await servedObject('showcase_semantic_zoo_legacy');
+
+    // compactLayout (deprecated) must surface as highlightFields…
+    expect(def.highlightFields).toEqual(['name', 'amount']);
+    // …and stay readable under the old name (ADR-0079 alias pattern).
+    expect(def.compactLayout).toEqual(['name', 'amount']);
+  });
+
+  it('stageField:false survives serialization as a strict false', async () => {
+    const def = await servedObject('showcase_semantic_zoo_legacy');
+
+    // `false` is the only "this status-shaped field is NOT a lifecycle" signal.
+    // It has to arrive as a STRICT false: a serializer that drops falsy values
+    // (or a renderer falsy-check) silently turns the stepper back on — the
+    // exact bug PR objectui#2168 fixed. The fixture's `status` field is named
+    // to trip the heuristic if this suppression ever leaks.
+    expect(def.stageField).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('the served metadata composes with the shared fieldGroups derivation', async () => {
+    const def = await servedObject('showcase_semantic_zoo');
+
+    // Every renderer (form / modal / detail) is a thin adapter over this one
+    // function (ADR-0085 §5), so served-def × derivation IS the layout
+    // contract: declared order, collapse passthrough, trailing untitled
+    // bucket for ungrouped fields.
+    const sections = deriveFieldGroupLayout(def);
+    expect(sections).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(sections!.map((s) => s.key)).toEqual(['basics', 'money', undefined]);
+    expect(sections![0].fields).toContain('status');
+    expect(sections![1]).toMatchObject({ key: 'money', collapse: 'collapsed', fields: ['amount'] });
+    // Ungrouped trailing bucket keeps `notes` visible (never silently dropped).
+    expect(sections![2].fields).toContain('notes');
+  });
+
+  it('the fixture objects are real, writable objects (not metadata ghosts)', async () => {
+    const created = await stack.apiAs(token, 'POST', '/data/showcase_semantic_zoo', {
+      name: 'roles-roundtrip',
+      status: 'active',
+      amount: 7,
+    });
+    expect(created.status, `create failed: ${created.status}`).toBeLessThan(300);
+    const createdBody = (await created.json()) as any;
+    const id = createdBody.id ?? createdBody.record?.id ?? createdBody.data?.id;
+    expect(id, 'no id returned from create').toBeTruthy();
+
+    const got = await stack.apiAs(token, 'GET', `/data/showcase_semantic_zoo/${id}`);
+    expect(got.status).toBe(200);
+    const gotBody = (await got.json()) as any;
+    const rec = gotBody.record ?? gotBody.data ?? gotBody;
+    expect(rec.status).toBe('active');
+    expect(rec.amount).toBe(7);
+  });
+});