diff --git a/machine-docs/DECISIONS.md b/machine-docs/DECISIONS.md
index 5a41452..4e0b7f9 100644
--- a/machine-docs/DECISIONS.md
+++ b/machine-docs/DECISIONS.md
@@ -440,3 +440,43 @@ adds **content**, not infra, with a few small harness primitives ported from
 - **Heavy-recipe parking.** Drone's `MAX_TESTS=1` + per-build timeout already serialize runs; for
   Phase 2 we DO NOT lift it. Within a single run, the orchestrator deploys deps before the
   recipe-under-test sequentially (never concurrently) per plan §4.2.
+
+## Phase 2 Q3.4 — cryptpad create-pad deeper test deferral (2026-05-28)
+
+**Status:** Deferred to Q3.4 follow-up (or Q5 catch-up), with Adversary sign-off pending per
+plan §7.1.
+
+**What's deferred:** The "create-an-object + read-it-back" deep test for cryptpad —
+authenticate-and-create a real pad in the browser, type a uniquely-marked content string, reload
+the page (retaining the client-side encryption key in the URL fragment), assert the marker
+survives. This is the canonical create-and-read-back per plan §4.3 ("client-side-encryption:
+page is JS-rendered, so use Playwright, not bare curl").
+
+**Why deferred (the technical reason):**
+- CryptPad's pad-creation client-side flow is **version-specific**. In the recipe under test
+  (10.6.0+5.7.0), visiting `/pad/` does NOT auto-inject a fragment-keyed pad URL; CryptPad
+  requires the user to explicitly click a "new rich text" / "new pad" link from the landing
+  page, AND those UI selectors (`.cp-apps-grid a`, `[data-app='pad']`, `a[href*='/pad/']`) are
+  not stable across CryptPad versions.
+- Three attempted drafts during Q3.4 each failed cold on this:
+  1. Type + reload + content-survives: contenteditable inside nested iframe with origin
+     mismatch (SANDBOX_DOMAIN).
+  2. Direct-`/pad/`-then-fragment: no fragment ever appeared on this version.
+  3. Click-fallback for known app-launch selectors: none of the candidate selectors matched.
+
+**The maximal testable subset that IS shipped (P3 floor met):**
+- `tests/cryptpad/functional/test_health_check.py` — parity HTTP 200.
+- `tests/cryptpad/functional/test_spa_assets.py` — CryptPad branding + canonical asset paths
+  in served HTML. Catches the wedged-server-fallback-page failure mode.
+- `tests/cryptpad/playwright/test_pad_create.py` — Chromium renders the SPA, asserts brand
+  + canonical asset references + zero non-filtered JavaScript console errors.
+
+The Playwright test exercises the JS pipeline in a real browser (per §4.3 directive); the
+piece NOT exercised is the user-action-driven pad lifecycle. **What's required to lift the
+deferral:** pin a specific CryptPad app-launch contract (CryptPad's source has app-launch
+URL patterns like `/pad/?new=1` on some versions) OR write a Playwright helper that walks the
+SPA's main menu via a stable accessibility tree (role-based selectors instead of CSS).
+
+Adversary may file F2-N requesting full create-pad coverage; the answer above is the
+honest technical reason + the maximal subset. Logged here per plan §7.1.
+