diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index 3069aa3b..916c56c9 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -469,19 +469,19 @@ intellijPlatform {
         // experimental API is acceptable with a reason; a deprecated one is not acceptable at all, because
         // it has an announced removal date and the plugin has to keep working across the IDE range.
         //
-        // MISSING_DEPENDENCIES is here for a reason found the hard way, and it is the most load-bearing entry
-        // in this list: a mandatory `<depends>` that the target IDE cannot satisfy means **the plugin does not
-        // load at all** — not a degraded feature, not a warning, nothing. The verifier detects it perfectly
-        // (pointed at 253.28294.334 it says "1 missing mandatory dependency" in as many words) and, without
-        // this line, still finished with BUILD SUCCESSFUL. A gate that finds the fault and passes anyway is
-        // worse than no gate: it is a green tick over a plugin that cannot start.
+        // MISSING_DEPENDENCIES is deliberately NOT here either. A mandatory `<depends>` the target IDE cannot
+        // satisfy means the plugin does not load at all, and the verifier does detect it — but the Gradle plugin
+        // (2.16.0, and 2.18.1 alike) parses the verifier's stdout by the "Missing dependencies" heading and
+        // cannot tell `(optional): Unavailable` from a mandatory gap, so with that level on, every PyCharm
+        // target fails on the optional com.intellij.modules.java dependency that PyCharm lacks by design.
+        // The protection that level gave lives in PluginDependenciesContractTest instead: every non-optional
+        // <depends> must be a platform module every IntelliJ-based IDE ships.
         failureLevel =
             listOf(
                 VerifyPluginTask.FailureLevel.COMPATIBILITY_PROBLEMS,
                 VerifyPluginTask.FailureLevel.INTERNAL_API_USAGES,
                 VerifyPluginTask.FailureLevel.OVERRIDE_ONLY_API_USAGES,
                 VerifyPluginTask.FailureLevel.DEPRECATED_API_USAGES,
-                VerifyPluginTask.FailureLevel.MISSING_DEPENDENCIES,
             )
         ides {
             // No hardcoded path in the repo: a developer can point the verifier at local IDE installs to skip the
diff --git a/src/test/kotlin/dev/lain/claudejb/PluginDependenciesContractTest.kt b/src/test/kotlin/dev/lain/claudejb/PluginDependenciesContractTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5f38f06b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/kotlin/dev/lain/claudejb/PluginDependenciesContractTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+package dev.lain.claudejb
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test
+import java.io.File
+
+class PluginDependenciesContractTest {
+
+    private val metaInf = File("src/main/resources/META-INF")
+    private val descriptor = metaInf.resolve("plugin.xml").readText()
+    private val depends = DEPENDS.findAll(descriptor).map { Dependency(it.groupValues[1], it.groupValues[2].trim()) }.toList()
+
+    @Test
+    fun `every mandatory dependency is a platform module that every IntelliJ-based IDE ships`() {
+        val mandatory = depends.filterNot { it.optional }.map { it.id }
+        assertEquals(
+            emptyList<String>(),
+            mandatory - MODULES_IN_EVERY_IDE,
+            "A mandatory <depends> the target IDE cannot satisfy means the plugin does not load at all, and the " +
+                "verifier no longer fails the build over missing dependencies because it cannot tell an optional " +
+                "one from a mandatory one. Make it optional with a config-file, or add it here with the proof that " +
+                "every IDE in the verified range ships it.",
+        )
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `every optional dependency names a config-file that exists`() {
+        depends.filter { it.optional }.forEach { dependency ->
+            val configFile = dependency.configFile
+            assertTrue(configFile != null, "${dependency.id} is optional but names no config-file")
+            assertTrue(
+                metaInf.resolve(configFile!!).isFile,
+                "META-INF/$configFile is referenced by plugin.xml for ${dependency.id} but does not exist",
+            )
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `the verifier is not asked to fail on missing dependencies, because it fails the optional ones too`() {
+        val failureLevels = Regex("""failureLevel\s*=\s*listOf\(([^)]*)\)""").find(File("build.gradle.kts").readText())
+        assertTrue(failureLevels != null, "No failureLevel list found in build.gradle.kts")
+        assertFalse(
+            "MISSING_DEPENDENCIES" in failureLevels!!.groupValues[1],
+            "FailureLevel.MISSING_DEPENDENCIES turns every optional dependency a target IDE lacks into a failed " +
+                "verification: PyCharm has no com.intellij.modules.java. The mandatory case is guarded by this test.",
+        )
+    }
+
+    private class Dependency(attributes: String, val id: String) {
+        val optional = OPTIONAL.containsMatchIn(attributes)
+        val configFile = CONFIG_FILE.find(attributes)?.groupValues?.get(1)
+    }
+
+    private companion object {
+        val DEPENDS = Regex("""<depends([^>]*)>([^<]+)</depends>""")
+        val OPTIONAL = Regex("""optional\s*=\s*"true"""")
+        val CONFIG_FILE = Regex("""config-file\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"""")
+        val MODULES_IN_EVERY_IDE = setOf("com.intellij.modules.platform", "com.intellij.modules.jcef")
+    }
+}