diff --git a/scripts/apply-annotation-ticket.mjs b/scripts/apply-annotation-ticket.mjs
index 4424e5e..9103305 100644
--- a/scripts/apply-annotation-ticket.mjs
+++ b/scripts/apply-annotation-ticket.mjs
@@ -1,12 +1,17 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 // scripts/apply-annotation-ticket.mjs
+//
 // Applique un ticket Gitea "type/media | type/reference | type/comment" vers:
 //
-//   ✅ src/annotations/<oeuvre>/<chapitre>/<paraId>.yml  (sharding par paragraphe)
+//   ✅ src/annotations/<oeuvre>/<chapitre>/<paraId>.yml   (sharding par paragraphe)
 //   ✅ public/media/<oeuvre>/<chapitre>/<paraId>/<file>
 //
-// Robuste, idempotent, non destructif.
+// Compat rétro : lit (si présent) l'ancien monolithe:
+//   src/annotations/<oeuvre>/<chapitre>.yml
+// et deep-merge NON destructif dans le shard lors d'une nouvelle application,
+// pour permettre une migration progressive sans perte.
 //
+// Robuste, idempotent, non destructif.
 // DRY RUN si --dry-run
 // Options: --dry-run --no-download --verify --strict --commit --close
 //
@@ -49,8 +54,8 @@ Flags:
   --dry-run      : n'écrit rien (affiche un aperçu)
   --no-download  : n'essaie pas de télécharger les pièces jointes (media)
   --verify       : vérifie que (page, ancre) existent (dist/para-index.json si dispo, sinon baseline)
-  --strict       : refuse si URL ref invalide (http/https) OU caption media vide
-  --commit       : git add + git commit (le script commit dans la branche courante)
+  --strict       : refuse si URL ref invalide (http/https) OU caption media vide OU verify impossible
+  --commit       : git add + git commit (commit dans la branche courante)
   --close        : ferme le ticket (nécessite --commit)
 
 Env requis:
@@ -191,6 +196,7 @@ function normalizeChemin(chemin) {
 }
 
 function normalizePageKeyFromChemin(chemin) {
+  // ex: /archicrat-ia/chapitre-4/ => archicrat-ia/chapitre-4
   return normalizeChemin(chemin).replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, "");
 }
 
@@ -226,90 +232,156 @@ function isHttpUrl(u) {
   }
 }
 
-/* ------------------------------ para-index (verify + sort) ------------------------------ */
+function stableSortByTs(arr) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(arr)) return;
+  arr.sort((a, b) => {
+    const ta = Date.parse(a?.ts || "") || 0;
+    const tb = Date.parse(b?.ts || "") || 0;
+    if (ta !== tb) return ta - tb;
+    return JSON.stringify(a).localeCompare(JSON.stringify(b));
+  });
+}
+
+function normPage(s) {
+    let x = String(s || "").trim();
+    if (!x) return "";
+    // retire origin si on a une URL complète
+    x = x.replace(/^https?:\/\/[^/]+/i, "");
+    // enlève query/hash
+    x = x.split("#")[0].split("?")[0];
+    // enlève index.html
+    x = x.replace(/index\.html$/i, "");
+    // enlève slashs de bord
+    x = x.replace(/^\/+/, "").replace(/\/+$/, "");
+    return x;
+  }
+
+/* ------------------------------ para-index (verify + order) ------------------------------ */
 
 async function loadParaOrderFromDist(pageKey) {
-  const distIdx = path.join(CWD, "dist", "para-index.json");
-  if (!(await exists(distIdx))) return null;
-
-  let j;
-  try {
-    j = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(distIdx, "utf8"));
-  } catch {
+    const distIdx = path.join(CWD, "dist", "para-index.json");
+    if (!(await exists(distIdx))) return null;
+  
+    let j;
+    try {
+      j = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(distIdx, "utf8"));
+    } catch {
+      return null;
+    }
+  
+    const want = normPage(pageKey);
+  
+    // Support A) { items:[{id,page,...}, ...] } (ou variantes)
+    const items = Array.isArray(j?.items)
+      ? j.items
+      : Array.isArray(j?.index?.items)
+        ? j.index.items
+        : null;
+  
+    if (items) {
+      const ids = [];
+      for (const it of items) {
+        // page peut être dans plein de clés différentes
+        const pageCand = normPage(
+          it?.page ??
+          it?.pageKey ??
+          it?.path ??
+          it?.route ??
+          it?.href ??
+          it?.url ??
+          ""
+        );
+  
+        // id peut être dans plein de clés différentes
+        let id = String(it?.id ?? it?.paraId ?? it?.anchorId ?? it?.anchor ?? "");
+        if (id.startsWith("#")) id = id.slice(1);
+  
+        if (pageCand === want && id) ids.push(id);
+      }
+      if (ids.length) return ids;
+    }
+  
+    // Support B) { byId: { "p-...": { page:"...", ... }, ... } }
+    if (j?.byId && typeof j.byId === "object") {
+      const ids = Object.keys(j.byId)
+        .filter((id) => {
+          const meta = j.byId[id] || {};
+          const pageCand = normPage(meta.page ?? meta.pageKey ?? meta.path ?? meta.route ?? meta.url ?? "");
+          return pageCand === want;
+        });
+  
+      if (ids.length) {
+        ids.sort((a, b) => {
+          const ia = paraIndexFromId(a);
+          const ib = paraIndexFromId(b);
+          if (Number.isFinite(ia) && Number.isFinite(ib) && ia !== ib) return ia - ib;
+          return String(a).localeCompare(String(b));
+        });
+        return ids;
+      }
+    }
+  
+    // Support C) { pages: { "archicrat-ia/chapitre-4": { ids:[...] } } } (ou variantes)
+    if (j?.pages && typeof j.pages === "object") {
+      // essaie de trouver la bonne clé même si elle est /.../ ou .../index.html
+      const keys = Object.keys(j.pages);
+      const hit = keys.find((k) => normPage(k) === want);
+      if (hit) {
+        const pg = j.pages[hit];
+        if (Array.isArray(pg?.ids)) return pg.ids.map(String);
+        if (Array.isArray(pg?.paras)) return pg.paras.map(String);
+      }
+    }
+  
     return null;
   }
 
-  // Support several shapes:
-  // A) { items:[{id,page,...}, ...] }
-  if (Array.isArray(j?.items)) {
-    const ids = [];
-    for (const it of j.items) {
-      const p = String(it?.page || it?.pageKey || "");
-      const id = String(it?.id || it?.paraId || "");
-      if (p === pageKey && id) ids.push(id);
-    }
-    if (ids.length) return ids;
-  }
-
-  // B) { byId: { "p-...": { page:"archicrat-ia/chapitre-4", ... }, ... } }
-  if (j?.byId && typeof j.byId === "object") {
-    // cannot rebuild full order; but can verify existence
-    // return a pseudo-order map from known ids sorted by p-<n>- then alpha
-    const ids = Object.keys(j.byId).filter((id) => String(j.byId[id]?.page || "") === pageKey);
-    if (ids.length) {
-      ids.sort((a, b) => {
-        const ia = paraIndexFromId(a);
-        const ib = paraIndexFromId(b);
-        if (Number.isFinite(ia) && Number.isFinite(ib) && ia !== ib) return ia - ib;
-        return String(a).localeCompare(String(b));
-      });
-      return ids;
-    }
-  }
-
-  // C) { pages: { "archicrat-ia/chapitre-4": { ids:[...]} } }
-  if (j?.pages && typeof j.pages === "object") {
-    const pg = j.pages[pageKey];
-    if (Array.isArray(pg?.ids)) return pg.ids.map(String);
-    if (Array.isArray(pg?.paras)) return pg.paras.map(String);
-  }
-
-  return null;
-}
-
-async function tryVerifyAnchor(pageKey, anchorId) {
-  // 1) dist/para-index.json
-  const order = await loadParaOrderFromDist(pageKey);
-  if (order) return order.includes(anchorId);
-
-  // 2) tests/anchors-baseline.json (fallback)
-  const base = path.join(CWD, "tests", "anchors-baseline.json");
-  if (await exists(base)) {
-    try {
-      const j = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(base, "utf8"));
-      const candidates = [];
-      if (j?.pages && typeof j.pages === "object") {
-        for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(j.pages)) {
-          if (!Array.isArray(v)) continue;
-          if (String(k).includes(pageKey)) candidates.push(...v);
+  async function tryVerifyAnchor(pageKey, anchorId) {
+    // 1) dist/para-index.json : order complet si possible
+    const order = await loadParaOrderFromDist(pageKey);
+    if (order) return order.includes(anchorId);
+  
+    // 1bis) dist/para-index.json : fallback “best effort” => recherche brute (IDs quasi uniques)
+    const distIdx = path.join(CWD, "dist", "para-index.json");
+    if (await exists(distIdx)) {
+      try {
+        const raw = await fs.readFile(distIdx, "utf8");
+        if (raw.includes(`"${anchorId}"`) || raw.includes(`"#${anchorId}"`)) {
+          return true;
         }
+      } catch {
+        // ignore
       }
-      if (Array.isArray(j?.entries)) {
-        for (const it of j.entries) {
-          const p = String(it?.page || "");
-          const ids = it?.ids;
-          if (Array.isArray(ids) && p.includes(pageKey)) candidates.push(...ids);
-        }
-      }
-      if (candidates.length) return candidates.some((x) => String(x) === anchorId);
-    } catch {
-      // ignore
     }
+  
+    // 2) tests/anchors-baseline.json (fallback)
+    const base = path.join(CWD, "tests", "anchors-baseline.json");
+    if (await exists(base)) {
+      try {
+        const j = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(base, "utf8"));
+        const candidates = [];
+        if (j?.pages && typeof j.pages === "object") {
+          for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(j.pages)) {
+            if (!Array.isArray(v)) continue;
+            if (normPage(k).includes(normPage(pageKey))) candidates.push(...v);
+          }
+        }
+        if (Array.isArray(j?.entries)) {
+          for (const it of j.entries) {
+            const p = String(it?.page || "");
+            const ids = it?.ids;
+            if (Array.isArray(ids) && normPage(p).includes(normPage(pageKey))) candidates.push(...ids);
+          }
+        }
+        if (candidates.length) return candidates.some((x) => String(x) === anchorId);
+      } catch {
+        // ignore
+      }
+    }
+  
+    return null; // cannot verify
   }
 
-  return null; // cannot verify
-}
-
 /* ----------------------------- deep merge helpers (non destructive) ----------------------------- */
 
 function keyMedia(x) {
@@ -360,7 +432,6 @@ function deepMergeEntry(dst, src) {
     }
 
     if (Array.isArray(v)) {
-      // fallback: union by JSON string
       const cur = Array.isArray(dst[k]) ? dst[k] : [];
       const seen = new Set(cur.map((x) => JSON.stringify(x)));
       const out = [...cur];
@@ -382,16 +453,6 @@ function deepMergeEntry(dst, src) {
   }
 }
 
-function stableSortByTs(arr) {
-  if (!Array.isArray(arr)) return;
-  arr.sort((a, b) => {
-    const ta = Date.parse(a?.ts || "") || 0;
-    const tb = Date.parse(b?.ts || "") || 0;
-    if (ta !== tb) return ta - tb;
-    return JSON.stringify(a).localeCompare(JSON.stringify(b));
-  });
-}
-
 /* ----------------------------- annotations I/O ----------------------------- */
 
 async function loadAnnoDocYaml(fileAbs, pageKey) {
@@ -424,9 +485,7 @@ async function loadAnnoDocYaml(fileAbs, pageKey) {
 function sortParasObject(paras, order) {
   const keys = Object.keys(paras || {});
   const idx = new Map();
-  if (Array.isArray(order)) {
-    order.forEach((id, i) => idx.set(String(id), i));
-  }
+  if (Array.isArray(order)) order.forEach((id, i) => idx.set(String(id), i));
 
   keys.sort((a, b) => {
     const ha = idx.has(a);
@@ -448,9 +507,9 @@ function sortParasObject(paras, order) {
 
 async function saveAnnoDocYaml(fileAbs, doc, order = null) {
   await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(fileAbs), { recursive: true });
+
   doc.paras = sortParasObject(doc.paras, order);
 
-  // also sort known lists inside each para for stable diffs
   for (const e of Object.values(doc.paras || {})) {
     if (!isPlainObject(e)) continue;
     stableSortByTs(e.media);
@@ -632,7 +691,6 @@ async function main() {
   const pageKey = normalizePageKeyFromChemin(chemin);
   assert(pageKey, "Ticket: impossible de dériver pageKey.", 2);
 
-  // para order (used for verify + sorting)
   const paraOrder = DO_VERIFY ? await loadParaOrderFromDist(pageKey) : null;
 
   if (DO_VERIFY) {
@@ -641,46 +699,43 @@ async function main() {
       throw Object.assign(new Error(`Ticket verify: ancre introuvable pour page "${pageKey}" => ${ancre}`), { __exitCode: 2 });
     }
     if (ok === null) {
-      if (STRICT) throw Object.assign(new Error(`Ticket verify (strict): impossible de vérifier (pas de dist/para-index.json ou baseline)`), { __exitCode: 2 });
+      if (STRICT) {
+        throw Object.assign(
+          new Error(`Ticket verify (strict): impossible de vérifier (pas de dist/para-index.json ou baseline)`),
+          { __exitCode: 2 }
+        );
+      }
       console.warn("⚠️  verify: impossible de vérifier (pas de dist/para-index.json ou baseline) — on continue.");
     }
   }
 
-  // ✅ SHARD FILE: src/annotations/<pageKey>/<paraId>.yml
-  const annoShardFileAbs = path.join(ANNO_DIR, pageKey, `${ancre}.yml`);
-  const annoShardFileRel = path.relative(CWD, annoShardFileAbs).replace(/\\/g, "/");
+  // ✅ shard path: src/annotations/<pageKey>/<paraId>.yml
+  const shardAbs = path.join(ANNO_DIR, ...pageKey.split("/"), `${ancre}.yml`);
+  const shardRel = path.relative(CWD, shardAbs).replace(/\\/g, "/");
 
-  // legacy (read-only, used as base to avoid losing previously stored data)
-  const annoLegacyFileAbs = path.join(ANNO_DIR, `${pageKey}.yml`);
+  // legacy monolith: src/annotations/<pageKey>.yml (read-only, for migration)
+  const legacyAbs = path.join(ANNO_DIR, `${pageKey}.yml`);
 
-  console.log("✅ Parsed:", {
-    type,
-    chemin,
-    ancre: `#${ancre}`,
-    pageKey,
-    annoFile: annoShardFileRel,
-  });
+  console.log("✅ Parsed:", { type, chemin, ancre: `#${ancre}`, pageKey, annoFile: shardRel });
 
   // load shard doc
-  const doc = await loadAnnoDocYaml(annoShardFileAbs, pageKey);
-
-  // merge legacy para into shard as base (non destructive)
-  if (await exists(annoLegacyFileAbs)) {
-    try {
-      const legacy = await loadAnnoDocYaml(annoLegacyFileAbs, pageKey);
-      const legacyEntry = legacy?.paras?.[ancre];
-      if (isPlainObject(legacyEntry)) {
-        if (!isPlainObject(doc.paras[ancre])) doc.paras[ancre] = {};
-        deepMergeEntry(doc.paras[ancre], legacyEntry);
-      }
-    } catch {
-      // ignore legacy parse issues (shard still works)
-    }
-  }
-
+  const doc = await loadAnnoDocYaml(shardAbs, pageKey);
   if (!isPlainObject(doc.paras[ancre])) doc.paras[ancre] = {};
   const entry = doc.paras[ancre];
 
+  // merge legacy entry into shard in-memory (non destructive) to keep compat + enable progressive migration
+  if (await exists(legacyAbs)) {
+    try {
+      const legacy = await loadAnnoDocYaml(legacyAbs, pageKey);
+      const legacyEntry = legacy?.paras?.[ancre];
+      if (isPlainObject(legacyEntry)) {
+        deepMergeEntry(entry, legacyEntry);
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // ignore legacy parse issues; shard still applies new data
+    }
+  }
+
   const touchedFiles = [];
   const notes = [];
   let changed = false;
@@ -696,10 +751,13 @@ async function main() {
 
     const before = entry.comments_editorial.length;
     entry.comments_editorial = uniqUnion(entry.comments_editorial, [item], keyComment);
-    changed = changed || entry.comments_editorial.length !== before;
-
+    if (entry.comments_editorial.length !== before) {
+      changed = true;
+      notes.push(`+ comment added (len=${text.length})`);
+    } else {
+      notes.push(`~ comment already present (dedup)`);
+    }
     stableSortByTs(entry.comments_editorial);
-    notes.push(changed ? `+ comment added (len=${text.length})` : `~ comment already present (dedup)`);
   }
 
   else if (type === "type/reference") {
@@ -722,15 +780,24 @@ async function main() {
 
     const before = entry.refs.length;
     entry.refs = uniqUnion(entry.refs, [item], keyRef);
-    changed = changed || entry.refs.length !== before;
-
+    if (entry.refs.length !== before) {
+      changed = true;
+      notes.push(`+ reference added (${item.url ? "url" : "label"})`);
+    } else {
+      notes.push(`~ reference already present (dedup)`);
+    }
     stableSortByTs(entry.refs);
-    notes.push(changed ? `+ reference added (${item.url ? "url" : "label"})` : `~ reference already present (dedup)`);
   }
 
   else if (type === "type/media") {
     if (!Array.isArray(entry.media)) entry.media = [];
 
+    const caption = (title || "").trim();
+    if (STRICT && !caption) {
+      throw Object.assign(new Error("Ticket media (strict): caption vide (titre de ticket requis)."), { __exitCode: 2 });
+    }
+    const captionFinal = caption || ".";
+
     const atts = NO_DOWNLOAD ? [] : await fetchIssueAssets({ forgeApiBase, owner, repo, token, issueNum });
     if (!atts.length) notes.push("! no assets found (nothing to download).");
 
@@ -739,13 +806,7 @@ async function main() {
       const dl = a?.browser_download_url || a?.download_url || "";
       if (!dl) { notes.push(`! asset missing download url: ${name}`); continue; }
 
-      const caption = (title || "").trim();
-      if (STRICT && !caption) {
-        throw Object.assign(new Error("Ticket media (strict): caption vide (titre de ticket requis)."), { __exitCode: 2 });
-      }
-      const captionFinal = caption || ".";
-
-      const mediaDirAbs = path.join(PUBLIC_DIR, "media", pageKey, ancre);
+      const mediaDirAbs = path.join(PUBLIC_DIR, "media", ...pageKey.split("/"), ancre);
       const destAbs = path.join(mediaDirAbs, name);
       const urlPath = `${MEDIA_URL_ROOT}/${pageKey}/${ancre}/${name}`.replace(/\/{2,}/g, "/");
 
@@ -790,7 +851,7 @@ async function main() {
 
   if (DRY_RUN) {
     console.log("\n--- DRY RUN (no write) ---");
-    console.log(`Would update: ${annoShardFileRel}`);
+    console.log(`Would update: ${shardRel}`);
     for (const n of notes) console.log("  ", n);
     console.log("\nExcerpt (resulting entry):");
     console.log(YAML.stringify({ [ancre]: doc.paras[ancre] }).trimEnd());
@@ -798,10 +859,10 @@ async function main() {
     return;
   }
 
-  await saveAnnoDocYaml(annoShardFileAbs, doc, paraOrder);
-  touchedFiles.unshift(annoShardFileRel);
+  await saveAnnoDocYaml(shardAbs, doc, paraOrder);
+  touchedFiles.unshift(shardRel);
 
-  console.log(`✅ Updated: ${annoShardFileRel}`);
+  console.log(`✅ Updated: ${shardRel}`);
   for (const n of notes) console.log("  ", n);
 
   if (DO_COMMIT) {