diff --git a/docs/specs/2026-07-29-qwen-extension-context-file.md b/docs/specs/2026-07-29-qwen-extension-context-file.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4bcabbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/specs/2026-07-29-qwen-extension-context-file.md
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+# Qwen Extension Dangling Context File Reference
+
+Remove the `contextFileName` declaration from `qwen-extension.json` because it
+references a `QWEN.md` file that does not exist in the repository and is not
+included in the published npm package.
+
+## Traceability
+
+- Spec ID: 2026-07-29-qwen-extension-context-file
+- Story: none; justified maintenance on the Qwen host manifest
+- Status: Implemented
+
+## Intent
+
+`qwen-extension.json` declares `"contextFileName": "QWEN.md"`, but no `QWEN.md`
+exists at the repository root, and `package.json` `files` does not include one,
+so the published package cannot ship it either.
+
+The reference is user-visible: Qwen Code `0.21.1` announces it before the
+install confirmation in both registration paths — `qwen extensions link
+<local-path>` and `qwen extensions install <git-repository-url>` — with the
+same message (observed on Windows with isolated `QWEN_HOME` directories):
+
+```text
+This extension will append info to your QWEN.md context using QWEN.md
+```
+
+The extension promises durable context that it cannot deliver. The existing
+manifest test pins the dangling value instead of catching it
+(`test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs` asserts
+`qwen.contextFileName === "QWEN.md"`).
+
+Better Harness manifests should not declare files they do not ship. The
+extension's behavior is fully owned by the canonical root `skills/` directory,
+which the manifest already routes through `"skills": "./skills/"`; no shipped
+behavior depends on an extension-owned context file.
+
+## Acceptance Scenarios
+
+- AC-1: `qwen-extension.json` no longer contains a `contextFileName` field; the
+  remaining fields (`name`, `version`, `displayName`, `description`, `skills`)
+  are unchanged.
+- AC-2: `test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs` asserts that `qwen.contextFileName`
+  is `undefined`, so a future reintroduction without the shipped file is
+  caught at review time.
+- AC-3: `node --test test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs` passes.
+- AC-4: `npm run pack:verify` passes; the packaged `qwen-extension.json` stays
+  version-aligned with `package.json`.
+- AC-5: With Qwen Code `0.21.1`, both local `extensions link` and Git URL
+  `extensions install --ref fix/qwen-context-manifest` still discover the
+  `better-harness` Skill but no longer print the missing-`QWEN.md` context
+  promise before confirmation. The Git install can complete and appear in
+  `extensions list` inside an isolated `QWEN_HOME` without invoking an LLM.
+
+## Non-Goals
+
+- No new `QWEN.md` context file. What durable context, if any, the extension
+  should inject into every Qwen session is a product decision; if maintainers
+  want one, adding the file plus a `files` entry and an existence test is a
+  separate change.
+- No change to the Qwen configured-asset provider or session analyzer; the
+  workspace-level `QWEN.md` inventory in
+  `scripts/agent-customize/providers/qwen.mjs` reads the user's repository,
+  not this extension manifest, and stays as is.
+- No change to the other host manifests.
+
+## Plan
+
+1. Remove the `contextFileName` line from `qwen-extension.json`.
+2. Update the Qwen manifest assertion in `test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs` to
+   require the field to be absent.
+3. Compare current upstream and the fix with Qwen Code `0.21.1` using isolated
+   homes, covering local link, Git URL install/ref selection, Skill discovery,
+   and installed-extension listing without starting a model session.
+
+## Test Evidence
+
+- `node --test test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs`
+- `npm run pack:verify`
+- `QWEN_HOME=<isolated-base> qwen extensions link <current-upstream-path>`
+- `QWEN_HOME=<isolated-base-install> qwen extensions install
+  https://github.com/QoderAI/better-harness.git`
+- `QWEN_HOME=<isolated-fix> qwen extensions link <fixed-worktree-path>`
+- `QWEN_HOME=<isolated-fix-install> qwen extensions install
+  https://github.com/KDB-Wind/better-harness.git --ref
+  fix/qwen-context-manifest --consent`
+- `QWEN_HOME=<isolated-fix-install> qwen extensions list`
+
+The isolated native-host checks do not open a chat or call an LLM. The
+upstream link/install prompts include the dangling context message; the fixed
+link/install prompts omit it while retaining the Skill declaration. The
+completed fixed install is confined to the temporary `QWEN_HOME`.
+
+Observed on 2026-07-30 after refreshing onto
+`main@30047662936e996b433f1d0ee0bcb582c0b839f0`:
+
+- Qwen Code `0.21.1` produced the expected upstream/fixed prompt difference;
+  the fixed Git-ref install completed and `extensions list` reported version
+  `0.3.0`, the fork source, the requested ref, and the `better-harness` Skill.
+- `node --test test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs
+  test/doc-link-graph.test.mjs` passed 9/9.
+- `npm run pack:verify` passed with 319 npm entries and 343 runtime ZIP
+  entries.
+- `npm test` reported 881 tests: 876 passed, 2 failed, and 3 skipped. The
+  unmodified current-upstream worktree produced the same two failures: an
+  environment-provided ancestor `CLAUDE.md`, and a Windows Git-failure fixture
+  that returned zero instead of the expected nonzero status.
diff --git a/qwen-extension.json b/qwen-extension.json
index d6660b1..cb3ab3a 100644
--- a/qwen-extension.json
+++ b/qwen-extension.json
@@ -3,6 +3,5 @@
   "version": "0.4.0",
   "displayName": "Better Harness",
   "description": "Build an AI-ready engineering system for safe coding-agent delivery and continuous software improvement.",
-  "contextFileName": "QWEN.md",
   "skills": "./skills/"
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs b/test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs
index e322cb7..f0e3eca 100644
--- a/test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs
+++ b/test/plugin-manifests.test.mjs
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ test("host plugin manifests expose canonical Better Harness resources", () => {
   assert.equal(qwen.version, qoder.version);
   assert.equal(qwen.description, qoder.description);
   assert.equal(qwen.displayName, qoder.displayName);
-  assert.equal(qwen.contextFileName, "QWEN.md");
+  assert.equal(qwen.contextFileName, undefined);
   assert.equal(qwen.skills, "./skills/");
 
   assert.equal(copilot.name, qoder.name);