diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 0bf74cbd..8323c2c1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
-          node-version: 22
+          node-version: 24
           cache: pnpm
 
       - run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
-          node-version: 22
+          node-version: 24
           cache: pnpm
 
       - run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
@@ -80,11 +80,14 @@ jobs:
         run: pnpm --filter '!@adobe/data' run build
 
       - name: Test downstream packages
+        # Every workspace package except the core (tested in the `data` job) and
+        # data-persistence (whose `test` script pulls in Playwright — run its
+        # node project instead). pnpm skips packages that declare no `test`
+        # script. This now includes the private sample apps (data-lit-todo,
+        # data-lit-tictactoe, …); previously they were only built, so a broken
+        # sample unit test (e.g. the data-lit-todo conformance suite) merged green.
         run: |
-          pnpm --filter @adobe/data-lit \
-               --filter @adobe/data-gpu \
-               --filter @adobe/data-react \
-               --filter @adobe/data-solid \
-               --filter @adobe/data-sync \
+          pnpm --filter '!@adobe/data' \
+               --filter '!@adobe/data-persistence' \
                run test
           pnpm --filter @adobe/data-persistence run test:node
diff --git a/.node-version b/.node-version
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a45fd52c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.node-version
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+24
diff --git a/.nvmrc b/.nvmrc
index 2bd5a0a9..a45fd52c 100644
--- a/.nvmrc
+++ b/.nvmrc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-22
+24
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 3a5b43ae..f4a2e9b8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "version": "0.9.89",
   "private": true,
   "engines": {
-    "node": ">=22"
+    "node": ">=24"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm -r run build",
diff --git a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/expect-conforms.ts b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/expect-conforms.ts
index 854b35f0..2261c1e1 100644
--- a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/expect-conforms.ts
+++ b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/expect-conforms.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 // © 2026 Adobe. MIT License. See /LICENSE for details.
 import { it } from "vitest";
+import { Entity } from "@adobe/data/ecs";
 import type { State } from "../../data/state/state.js";
 import type { ConformanceCase } from "../../data/state/conformance-case.js";
 import { expectStateMatches } from "../../data/state/expect-state-matches.js";
@@ -7,6 +8,13 @@ import type { CoreDatabase } from "../core-database/core-database.js";
 import { createStore } from "./create-store.js";
 import { fromState } from "./from-state.js";
 import { toState } from "./to-state.js";
+import { expectStateMatchesIgnoringIds } from "./expect-state-matches-ignoring-ids.js";
+
+// Resolve a spec domain `id` to the ecs entity seeded for it. `fromState`
+// returns the seeded entities in display order, so the i-th `before` todo maps
+// to the i-th entity; an id no todo carries resolves to `Entity.none`, so an
+// id-addressed transaction reads no such entity and is a no-op.
+export type ResolveEntity = (specId: number) => Entity;
 
 // The conformance runner, bound to THIS feature's projection (`fromState` /
 // `toState`). For each case it proves the one conformance property
@@ -19,25 +27,27 @@ import { toState } from "./to-state.js";
 //   2. seed `fromState(before)` → run the caller's `apply` → `toState ≡ after`
 //      — the ecs implementation reproduces the pure transform.
 //
-// `apply` receives the seeded writable store and calls the raw transaction
-// function directly (a transaction is `(store, args) => void`, so no `Database`
-// is involved). A transaction addressed by entity id passes the spec `id`
-// straight through: `fromState` seeds todos so that entity id equals spec `id`.
-// Todos compare as a multiset keyed by `id`; the resource compares exactly (see
-// `expectStateMatches`).
+// `apply` receives the seeded writable store, the case args, and a `resolve`
+// that maps a spec `id` to the seeded entity, then calls the raw transaction
+// function directly (a transaction is `(store, …) => void`, so no `Database`
+// is involved). Half 2 compares ignoring todo `id` (`expectStateMatchesIgnoringIds`):
+// the ecs owns its entity-id space, so the projection conforms only up to a
+// renaming of ids. Half 1 stays id-strict — the spec fully owns its domain ids.
 export const expectConforms = <Args>(config: {
   readonly cases: readonly ConformanceCase<Args>[];
   readonly spec: (before: State, args: Args) => State;
-  readonly apply: (store: CoreDatabase.Store, args: Args) => void;
+  readonly apply: (store: CoreDatabase.Store, args: Args, resolve: ResolveEntity) => void;
 }): void => {
   for (const testCase of config.cases) {
     it(testCase.name, () => {
       expectStateMatches(config.spec(testCase.before, testCase.args), testCase.after);
 
       const store = createStore();
-      fromState(store, testCase.before);
-      config.apply(store, testCase.args);
-      expectStateMatches(toState(store), testCase.after);
+      const entities = fromState(store, testCase.before);
+      const bySpecId = new Map(testCase.before.todos.map((todo, i) => [todo.id, entities[i]]));
+      const resolve: ResolveEntity = (specId) => bySpecId.get(specId) ?? Entity.none;
+      config.apply(store, testCase.args, resolve);
+      expectStateMatchesIgnoringIds(toState(store), testCase.after);
     });
   }
 };
diff --git a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/expect-state-matches-ignoring-ids.ts b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/expect-state-matches-ignoring-ids.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..85473ad0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/expect-state-matches-ignoring-ids.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+// © 2026 Adobe. MIT License. See /LICENSE for details.
+import type { State } from "../../data/state/state.js";
+import { expectStateMatches } from "../../data/state/expect-state-matches.js";
+
+// Like `expectStateMatches`, but compares todos without regard to their `id`.
+// The ecs projects each todo's entity id — drawn from its own quadrant-encoded
+// id-space — into `State.id`, which does not match the spec's domain `id`. The
+// projection therefore conforms only up to a renaming of ids: canonicalise both
+// sides to a single id so the comparison rests on the visible fields (`name`,
+// `complete`) and the resource, never the id value. Duplicates still count
+// (the multiset comparison is by value), so name-sharing round-trips hold.
+const canonicalizeIds = (state: State): State => ({
+  ...state,
+  todos: state.todos.map((todo) => ({ ...todo, id: 0 })),
+});
+
+export const expectStateMatchesIgnoringIds = (actual: State, expected: State): void =>
+  expectStateMatches(canonicalizeIds(actual), canonicalizeIds(expected));
diff --git a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/from-state.ts b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/from-state.ts
index 4c47de6a..948e4d6b 100644
--- a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/from-state.ts
+++ b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/from-state.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 // © 2026 Adobe. MIT License. See /LICENSE for details.
+import type { Entity } from "@adobe/data/ecs";
 import type { State } from "../../data/state/state.js";
 import type { CoreDatabase } from "../core-database/core-database.js";
 
@@ -8,20 +9,21 @@ import type { CoreDatabase } from "../core-database/core-database.js";
 // checked against the pure transform it stands for (see `expect-conforms.ts`).
 //
 // Clearing iterates tail→head so each delete is from the tail (no hole-fill
-// shift). Todos are inserted in array (display) order with `order` = the index,
-// and a fresh store assigns entity ids 1, 2, 3, … in that same order — so the
-// entity id of the i-th todo equals its spec `id` when the cases number ids
-// 1..N in display order. That identity is what lets an id-addressed transaction
-// resolve its target and lets `toState` reproduce each todo's `id`. The
-// implementation-only slots (`dragPosition`, `assignees`) are seeded empty.
-export const fromState = (store: CoreDatabase.Store, state: State): void => {
+// shift). Todos are inserted in array (display) order with `order` = the index;
+// the implementation-only slots (`dragPosition`, `assignees`) are seeded empty.
+//
+// The ecs assigns entity ids from its own quadrant-encoded id-space, unrelated
+// to the spec's domain `id`. So the seeded entities are returned in display
+// order and the caller maps spec `id` → entity positionally (see
+// `expect-conforms.ts`); nothing here assumes the two id-spaces coincide.
+export const fromState = (store: CoreDatabase.Store, state: State): readonly Entity[] => {
   for (const arch of store.queryArchetypes(store.archetypes.Todo.components)) {
     for (let row = arch.rowCount - 1; row >= 0; row--) {
       store.delete(arch.columns.id.get(row));
     }
   }
   store.resources.displayCompleted = state.displayCompleted;
-  state.todos.forEach((todo, index) => {
+  return state.todos.map((todo, index) =>
     store.archetypes.Todo.insert({
       todo: true,
       name: todo.name,
@@ -29,6 +31,6 @@ export const fromState = (store: CoreDatabase.Store, state: State): void => {
       order: index,
       dragPosition: null,
       assignees: [],
-    });
-  });
+    }),
+  );
 };
diff --git a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/projection.test.ts b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/projection.test.ts
index 87d6a156..200d9b93 100644
--- a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/projection.test.ts
+++ b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/projection.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 // proves the projection round-trips faithfully on its own.
 import { describe, it } from "vitest";
 import type { State } from "../../data/state/state.js";
-import { expectStateMatches } from "../../data/state/expect-state-matches.js";
+import { expectStateMatchesIgnoringIds } from "./expect-state-matches-ignoring-ids.js";
 import { createStore } from "./create-store.js";
 import { fromState } from "./from-state.js";
 import { toState } from "./to-state.js";
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ describe("ecs/conformance projection round-trips (toState ∘ fromState ≡ iden
     it(name, () => {
       const store = createStore();
       fromState(store, state);
-      expectStateMatches(toState(store), state);
+      expectStateMatchesIgnoringIds(toState(store), state);
     });
   }
 });
diff --git a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/to-state.ts b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/to-state.ts
index b5fdf2a6..b267d9ea 100644
--- a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/to-state.ts
+++ b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/conformance/to-state.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ import type { CoreDatabase } from "../core-database/core-database.js";
 // are read in ascending `order` (the ecs materialisation of display order),
 // each through its full `Todo` archetype so the row shape never aliases; only
 // the spec fields (`id`, `name`, `complete`) are projected — the ecs-only
-// `order` / `dragPosition` / `assignees` slots stay behind. Test-only.
+// `order` / `dragPosition` / `assignees` slots stay behind. The projected `id`
+// is the entity id (the ecs's own id-space, not the spec's domain id), so
+// conformance comparisons ignore it — see `expect-state-matches-ignoring-ids`.
+// Test-only.
 const readTodos = (store: CoreDatabase.Store): Todo[] => {
   const todos: Todo[] = [];
   for (const entity of store.select(store.archetypes.Todo.components, { order: { order: true } })) {
diff --git a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/delete-todo.test.ts b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/delete-todo.test.ts
index 197d5fab..c0af300e 100644
--- a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/delete-todo.test.ts
+++ b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/delete-todo.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,6 @@ describe("deleteTodo transaction conforms to State.deleteTodo", () => {
   expectConforms({
     cases,
     spec: State.deleteTodo,
-    apply: (store, args) => deleteTodo(store, args.id),
+    apply: (store, args, resolve) => deleteTodo(store, resolve(args.id)),
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/drag-todo.test.ts b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/drag-todo.test.ts
index 9ccfda09..334a9f32 100644
--- a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/drag-todo.test.ts
+++ b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/drag-todo.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ describe("dragTodo transaction conforms to State.reorderTodo", () => {
   expectConforms({
     cases,
     spec: State.reorderTodo,
-    apply: (store, args) =>
-      dragTodo(store, { entity: args.id, dragPosition: 0, finalIndex: args.toIndex }),
+    apply: (store, args, resolve) =>
+      dragTodo(store, { entity: resolve(args.id), dragPosition: 0, finalIndex: args.toIndex }),
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/toggle-complete.test.ts b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/toggle-complete.test.ts
index 43357a84..1acb6b47 100644
--- a/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/toggle-complete.test.ts
+++ b/packages/data-lit-todo/src/features/main/ecs/transaction-database/transactions/toggle-complete.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,6 @@ describe("toggleComplete transaction conforms to State.toggleComplete", () => {
   expectConforms({
     cases,
     spec: State.toggleComplete,
-    apply: (store, args) => toggleComplete(store, args.id),
+    apply: (store, args, resolve) => toggleComplete(store, resolve(args.id)),
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/persistence-sharing.test.ts b/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/persistence-sharing.test.ts
index aa9de9fb..6100b387 100644
--- a/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/persistence-sharing.test.ts
+++ b/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/persistence-sharing.test.ts
@@ -50,4 +50,12 @@ describe("Entity persistence/sharing quadrant", () => {
             }
         }
     });
+
+    it("none is the last representable id and past any allocatable local index", () => {
+        // The maximum local index the encoding can carry; the allocator never
+        // reaches it, so `none` decodes to an id no live entity occupies.
+        const maxLocalIndex = (1 << (32 - 2)) - 1;
+        expect(toLocalIndex(Entity.none)).toBe(maxLocalIndex);
+        expect(Entity.none).toBe(-1);
+    });
 });
diff --git a/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/persistence-sharing.ts b/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/persistence-sharing.ts
index 70bfdedb..3d845f32 100644
--- a/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/persistence-sharing.ts
+++ b/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/persistence-sharing.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,16 @@ export const quadrantFor = (nonPersistent: boolean, nonShared: boolean): number
 /** Pack a per-quadrant local index + quadrant into an entity id. */
 export const toEntity = (localIndex: number, quadrant: number): Entity => (localIndex << QUADRANT_BITS) | quadrant;
 
+/**
+ * Sentinel for "no entity": the last representable id (the maximum local index
+ * in the last quadrant, which is numerically -1). The allocator issues local
+ * indices from 0 upward and a quadrant fills up long before 2^30 entities, so
+ * no live entity ever equals this — `locate`/`read` resolve it to null. Use it
+ * where a lookup may have no answer; it is not a live entity, so never
+ * insert/delete/update it.
+ */
+export const none: Entity = toEntity((1 << (32 - QUADRANT_BITS)) - 1, QUADRANT_MASK);
+
 /** Recover the per-quadrant local index from an entity id (unsigned). */
 export const toLocalIndex = (entity: Entity): number => entity >>> QUADRANT_BITS;
 
diff --git a/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/public.ts b/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/public.ts
index dfd941c1..cd3d2115 100644
--- a/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/public.ts
+++ b/packages/data/src/ecs/entity/public.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 // © 2026 Adobe. MIT License. See /LICENSE for details.
 export { schema } from "./schema.js";
-export { isNonPersistent, isPersistent, isNonShared, isShared, quadrantOf, toLocalIndex, toEntity, persistentQuadrants } from "./persistence-sharing.js";
+export { isNonPersistent, isPersistent, isNonShared, isShared, quadrantOf, toLocalIndex, toEntity, none, persistentQuadrants } from "./persistence-sharing.js";