diff --git a/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-27-auth-system-design.md b/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-27-auth-system-design.md
index 20ca23e..0ed6d6d 100644
--- a/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-27-auth-system-design.md
+++ b/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-27-auth-system-design.md
@@ -71,9 +71,11 @@ Nothing else counts. No `localStorage` flags, no JWT, no client-side "I think I'
 
 ```js
 export async function requireAuth(req, res, next) {
-  // Dev mode preserved
+  // Dev mode preserved. The 'dev' user is a real row in `users` seeded at
+  // boot when AUTH_ENABLED !== 'true', so FK-bearing routes (api_tokens,
+  // future comments, audit fields) keep working without conditional logic.
   if (process.env.AUTH_ENABLED !== 'true') {
-    req.user = { id: 'dev', username: 'dev' };
+    req.user = DEV_USER; // { id: <UUID of seeded 'dev' user>, username: 'dev' }
     return next();
   }
 
@@ -108,7 +110,18 @@ export async function requireAuth(req, res, next) {
 }
 ```
 
-Mounted at the `/api/v1` level in `services/mam-api/src/index.js`, with an allowlist for `/api/v1/auth/login`, `/api/v1/auth/setup`, `/api/v1/auth/setup-required`, and `/health`.
+Mounted at the `/api/v1` level in `services/mam-api/src/index.js`, **before** the individual route mounts, with an allowlist for the three pre-login auth paths:
+
+```js
+app.use('/api/v1', (req, res, next) => {
+  const unauth = ['/auth/login', '/auth/setup', '/auth/setup-required'];
+  if (unauth.some(p => req.path === p)) return next();
+  return requireAuth(req, res, next);
+});
+// then: app.use('/api/v1/assets', assetsRouter), etc.
+```
+
+`/health` lives at the root, outside the `/api/v1` mount, so it's naturally unaffected. `/api/v1/cluster/*` keeps its existing `019-node-token-binding` service-auth path: requireAuth runs first, fails with 401 for an unauthenticated request, **but** the cluster routes themselves do their own token check on request bodies, so node-agent traffic must include a valid user session OR an api_token (which is the change — node-agent will need to be issued an api_token at install time). Alternative: carve `/api/v1/cluster/*` out of the requireAuth gate too, and keep node-agent on its existing binding token alone. Implementer should pick — flagged in the implementation order.
 
 ### Session middleware (actually wired this time)
 
@@ -236,11 +249,11 @@ Bearer tokens have their own optional `expires_at` (`NULL` = never expires); che
 
 Suggested sequencing for the implementation plan (writing-plans will refine):
 
-1. Migration `023-auth-session-timestamps.sql`.
+1. Migration `023-auth-session-timestamps.sql`. Add idempotent seed of the dev user (`INSERT ... ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING` with a fixed UUID) so dev mode FK-bearing routes work out of the box.
 2. `express-session` + `connect-pg-simple` wiring in `index.js`.
-3. `requireAuth` middleware.
+3. `requireAuth` middleware (with `DEV_USER` constant resolved from the seeded row).
 4. Auth router (setup, login, logout, me, password).
-5. Apply `requireAuth` to API router with allowlist.
+5. Apply `requireAuth` to API router with allowlist. Decide cluster carve-out (see Architecture).
 6. Auth tests (unit + integration + regression).
 7. Frontend `<AuthGate>` + Login screen + Setup screen.
 8. Frontend Settings -> Account + API Tokens.