diff --git a/crates/aura-cli/src/main.rs b/crates/aura-cli/src/main.rs
index 690a321..b30cd22 100644
--- a/crates/aura-cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/aura-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -4945,6 +4945,37 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(parse_blueprint_run_args(&["--params", "[{\"I64\":1}]", "--params", "[]"]).is_err()); // repeated
     }
 
+    /// Regenerates the committed demo signal blueprint the `aura run <file.json>`
+    /// E2E loads. Ignored by default; run with `--ignored` after a signal change.
+    #[test]
+    #[ignore = "regenerates the committed demo signal blueprint fixture"]
+    fn emit_demo_signal_fixture() {
+        let json = blueprint_to_json(&stage1_signal(Some(2), Some(4))).expect("serializes");
+        std::fs::write("tests/fixtures/stage1_signal.json", json).expect("write fixture");
+    }
+
+    /// The cycle-1 keystone (C1): a signal serialized → loaded back through the
+    /// public `blueprint_from_json` path runs bit-identically to its Rust-built
+    /// twin — same metrics, same traces, same topology_hash.
+    #[test]
+    fn loaded_signal_runs_bit_identical_to_rust_built() {
+        let json = blueprint_to_json(&stage1_signal(Some(2), Some(4))).expect("serializes");
+        let loaded = blueprint_from_json(&json, &|t| std_vocabulary(t)).expect("loads");
+        let a = run_signal_stage1r(stage1_signal(Some(2), Some(4)), &[], RunData::Synthetic, 0);
+        let b = run_signal_stage1r(loaded, &[], RunData::Synthetic, 0);
+        assert_eq!(a.to_json(), b.to_json(), "loaded run is bit-identical incl. topology_hash");
+        assert_eq!(a.manifest.topology_hash.as_deref().map(str::len), Some(64), "64-hex sha256 present");
+    }
+
+    /// `topology_hash` is deterministic per signal and distinguishes topologies —
+    /// the #158 reproducibility-anchor property.
+    #[test]
+    fn topology_hash_is_stable_and_distinguishes() {
+        let h = topology_hash(&stage1_signal(Some(2), Some(4)));
+        assert_eq!(h, topology_hash(&stage1_signal(Some(2), Some(4))), "same signal -> same hash");
+        assert_ne!(h, topology_hash(&stage1_signal(Some(3), Some(4))), "different topology -> different hash");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn parse_mc_args_bare_and_name_route_to_synthetic() {
         assert_eq!(parse_mc_args(&[]), Ok(McArgs::Synthetic { name: "mc".to_string(), persist: false }));
diff --git a/crates/aura-cli/tests/cli_run.rs b/crates/aura-cli/tests/cli_run.rs
index 2dc5ff6..bb24114 100644
--- a/crates/aura-cli/tests/cli_run.rs
+++ b/crates/aura-cli/tests/cli_run.rs
@@ -317,6 +317,38 @@ fn run_real_nonvetted_symbol_resolves_pip_from_sidecar() {
     );
 }
 
+/// `aura run <blueprint.json>` loads a serialized signal blueprint and runs it
+/// end-to-end (#165): exit 0, a RunReport whose manifest carries the topology_hash.
+#[test]
+fn aura_run_loads_and_runs_a_blueprint_file() {
+    let out = std::process::Command::new(env!("CARGO_BIN_EXE_aura"))
+        .args(["run", "tests/fixtures/stage1_signal.json"])
+        .output()
+        .expect("spawn aura run blueprint");
+    assert_eq!(
+        out.status.code(),
+        Some(0),
+        "exit: {:?} stderr={}",
+        out.status,
+        String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr)
+    );
+    let stdout = String::from_utf8(out.stdout).expect("utf-8");
+    assert!(stdout.contains("\"topology_hash\":\""), "manifest carries the topology hash: {stdout}");
+}
+
+/// A blueprint referencing a node type outside the closed vocabulary fails clean
+/// at load (the #160 closed-set guard at the data-plane face; invariant 9).
+#[test]
+fn aura_run_rejects_an_unknown_node_blueprint() {
+    let out = std::process::Command::new(env!("CARGO_BIN_EXE_aura"))
+        .args(["run", "tests/fixtures/unknown_node.json"])
+        .output()
+        .expect("spawn aura run unknown");
+    assert_ne!(out.status.code(), Some(0), "an unknown node type must fail the run");
+    let stderr = String::from_utf8(out.stderr).expect("utf-8");
+    assert!(stderr.contains("UnknownNodeType"), "names the cause: {stderr}");
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn run_trace_persists_taps_and_plain_run_writes_no_traces() {
     let cwd = temp_cwd("run-trace");
diff --git a/crates/aura-cli/tests/fixtures/stage1_signal.json b/crates/aura-cli/tests/fixtures/stage1_signal.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b5bb17c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/aura-cli/tests/fixtures/stage1_signal.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{"format_version":1,"blueprint":{"name":"stage1_signal","nodes":[{"primitive":{"type":"SMA","name":"fast","bound":[{"pos":0,"name":"length","kind":"I64","value":{"I64":2}}]}},{"primitive":{"type":"SMA","name":"slow","bound":[{"pos":0,"name":"length","kind":"I64","value":{"I64":4}}]}},{"primitive":{"type":"Sub"}},{"primitive":{"type":"Bias","name":"bias","bound":[{"pos":0,"name":"scale","kind":"F64","value":{"F64":0.5}}]}}],"edges":[{"from":0,"to":2,"slot":0,"from_field":0},{"from":1,"to":2,"slot":1,"from_field":0},{"from":2,"to":3,"slot":0,"from_field":0}],"input_roles":[{"name":"price","targets":[{"node":0,"slot":0},{"node":1,"slot":0}],"source":"F64"}],"output":[{"node":3,"field":0,"name":"bias"}]}}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/aura-cli/tests/fixtures/unknown_node.json b/crates/aura-cli/tests/fixtures/unknown_node.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7516354
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/aura-cli/tests/fixtures/unknown_node.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{"format_version":1,"blueprint":{"name":"stage1_signal","nodes":[{"primitive":{"type":"Nope","name":"fast","bound":[{"pos":0,"name":"length","kind":"I64","value":{"I64":2}}]}},{"primitive":{"type":"SMA","name":"slow","bound":[{"pos":0,"name":"length","kind":"I64","value":{"I64":4}}]}},{"primitive":{"type":"Sub"}},{"primitive":{"type":"Bias","name":"bias","bound":[{"pos":0,"name":"scale","kind":"F64","value":{"F64":0.5}}]}}],"edges":[{"from":0,"to":2,"slot":0,"from_field":0},{"from":1,"to":2,"slot":1,"from_field":0},{"from":2,"to":3,"slot":0,"from_field":0}],"input_roles":[{"name":"price","targets":[{"node":0,"slot":0},{"node":1,"slot":0}],"source":"F64"}],"output":[{"node":3,"field":0,"name":"bias"}]}}
\ No newline at end of file