diff --git a/cli/theme_vars_check.php b/cli/theme_vars_check.php
index 47a091e..428b448 100644
--- a/cli/theme_vars_check.php
+++ b/cli/theme_vars_check.php
@@ -10,25 +10,29 @@
  * INGROUP: mokocli
  * REPO: https://git.mokoconsulting.tech/MokoConsulting/mokocli
  * PATH: /cli/theme_vars_check.php
- * BRIEF: Verify a client MokoOnyx theme defines all required CSS variables
- *        (light + dark) and passes basic theme-package sanity checks.
+ * BRIEF: Validate a client MokoOnyx theme package — required CSS variables
+ *        (derived dynamically from the MokoOnyx standard theme) are defined in
+ *        the client's light/dark custom CSS, required files exist, the manifest
+ *        is sane, and (optionally) the repo's Gitea metadata is set.
  *
  * Standalone (no CliFramework dependency) so it runs even when the shared
  * framework autoloader is unavailable.
  *
- * Usage: php theme_vars_check.php --path . [--github-output] [--strict]
+ * Usage:
+ *   php theme_vars_check.php --path . --reference /tmp/mokoonyx [--github-output]
+ *       [--api-base <url> --repo <owner/repo> --token <token>]
  */
 
 declare(strict_types=1);
 
-$opts  = getopt('', ['path:', 'github-output', 'strict']);
-$path  = $opts['path'] ?? '.';
-if (!is_string($path) || $path === '') { $path = '.'; }
-$gh    = array_key_exists('github-output', $opts);
-$root  = realpath($path);
+$opts = getopt('', ['path:', 'reference:', 'github-output', 'api-base:', 'repo:', 'token:']);
+$path = isset($opts['path']) && is_string($opts['path']) && $opts['path'] !== '' ? $opts['path'] : '.';
+$ref  = isset($opts['reference']) && is_string($opts['reference']) ? $opts['reference'] : '';
+$gh   = array_key_exists('github-output', $opts);
+
+$root = realpath($path);
 if ($root === false) { $root = $path; }
 
-// Locate the package source directory (src/ preferred, source/ legacy).
 $src = is_dir("$root/src") ? "$root/src" : (is_dir("$root/source") ? "$root/source" : null);
 if ($src === null) {
     fwrite(STDERR, "ERROR: no src/ or source/ directory under $root\n");
@@ -42,60 +46,73 @@ $fail = function (string $msg) use (&$errors, &$summary): void {
     $summary[] = "FAIL: $msg";
     $errors++;
 };
-$ok = function (string $msg): void { echo "  [ok]   $msg\n"; };
+$ok    = function (string $msg): void { echo "  [ok]   $msg\n"; };
+$note  = function (string $msg): void { echo "  [note] $msg\n"; };
+
+/** Extract the set of CSS custom-property names DEFINED in a CSS string. */
+$definedVars = static function (string $css): array {
+    // Matches "--name:" at a declaration position (not var(--name) uses).
+    preg_match_all('/(?:^|[\s;{])(--[a-z0-9_-]+)\s*:/i', $css, $m);
+    return array_values(array_unique(array_map('strtolower', $m[1] ?? [])));
+};
+
+/** Find the MokoOnyx standard theme file for a mode inside a reference checkout. */
+$findStandard = static function (string $ref, string $mode): ?string {
+    if ($ref === '') { return null; }
+    foreach ([
+        "$ref/source/media/css/theme/$mode.standard.css",
+        "$ref/media/templates/site/mokoonyx/css/theme/$mode.standard.css",
+        "$ref/$mode.standard.css",
+    ] as $cand) {
+        if (is_file($cand)) { return $cand; }
+    }
+    return null;
+};
 
 $cssDir   = "$src/media/templates/site/mokoonyx/css";
 $themeDir = "$cssDir/theme";
-$light    = "$themeDir/light.custom.css";
-$dark     = "$themeDir/dark.custom.css";
 $manifest = "$src/templateDetails.xml";
+$customs  = ['light' => "$themeDir/light.custom.css", 'dark' => "$themeDir/dark.custom.css"];
 
 echo "MokoOnyx theme validation: $src\n\n";
 
 // 1) Required files -------------------------------------------------------
 echo "=== Required files ===\n";
 $requiredFiles = [
-    'templateDetails.xml' => $manifest,
-    'theme/light.custom.css' => $light,
-    'theme/dark.custom.css' => $dark,
-    'user.css' => "$cssDir/user.css",
+    'templateDetails.xml'    => $manifest,
+    'theme/light.custom.css' => $customs['light'],
+    'theme/dark.custom.css'  => $customs['dark'],
+    'user.css'               => "$cssDir/user.css",
 ];
 foreach ($requiredFiles as $label => $file) {
     is_file($file) ? $ok("$label present") : $fail("missing required file: $label");
 }
 
-// 2) Required CSS variables (must be defined in BOTH light and dark) ------
-$required = [
-    // accent + Bootstrap contextual colors
-    '--color-primary', '--primary', '--secondary', '--success', '--info',
-    '--warning', '--danger', '--light', '--dark',
-    // rgb triplets (utilities rely on these)
-    '--primary-rgb', '--secondary-rgb', '--success-rgb', '--info-rgb',
-    '--warning-rgb', '--danger-rgb', '--light-rgb', '--dark-rgb',
-    // 5.3 emphasis + subtle tokens (theme-aware utilities)
-    '--primary-text-emphasis', '--success-text-emphasis', '--info-text-emphasis',
-    '--warning-text-emphasis', '--danger-text-emphasis',
-    '--primary-bg-subtle', '--success-bg-subtle', '--info-bg-subtle',
-    '--warning-bg-subtle', '--danger-bg-subtle',
-    // body + links
-    '--body-bg', '--body-color', '--body-bg-rgb', '--body-color-rgb',
-    '--color-link', '--color-hover',
-];
-
-echo "\n=== MokoOnyx CSS variables (light + dark) ===\n";
-foreach (['light' => $light, 'dark' => $dark] as $mode => $file) {
-    if (!is_file($file)) { continue; } // already reported as missing file
-    $css = (string) file_get_contents($file);
-    $missing = [];
-    foreach ($required as $var) {
-        if (!preg_match('/' . preg_quote($var, '/') . '\s*:/', $css)) {
-            $missing[] = $var;
+// 2) CSS variables — required set derived from the MokoOnyx standard theme
+echo "\n=== CSS variables vs MokoOnyx standard theme ===\n";
+if ($ref === '') {
+    $note('no --reference given; skipping variable parity check');
+} else {
+    foreach ($customs as $mode => $customFile) {
+        $std = $findStandard($ref, $mode);
+        if ($std === null) {
+            $fail("$mode: standard theme not found under reference '$ref'");
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (!is_file($customFile)) {
+            continue; // already reported missing
+        }
+        $required = $definedVars((string) file_get_contents($std));
+        $defined  = $definedVars((string) file_get_contents($customFile));
+        $missing  = array_values(array_diff($required, $defined));
+        if ($missing) {
+            $shown = array_slice($missing, 0, 15);
+            $more  = count($missing) - count($shown);
+            $fail("$mode mode missing " . count($missing) . '/' . count($required)
+                . ' standard variable(s): ' . implode(', ', $shown) . ($more > 0 ? " (+$more more)" : ''));
+        } else {
+            $ok("$mode mode defines all " . count($required) . ' standard variables');
         }
-    }
-    if ($missing) {
-        $fail("$mode mode is missing " . count($missing) . ' variable(s): ' . implode(', ', $missing));
-    } else {
-        $ok("$mode mode defines all " . count($required) . ' required variables');
     }
 }
 
@@ -113,7 +130,7 @@ if (is_file($manifest)) {
         if ($server === '') {
             $fail('<updateservers><server> is missing');
         } elseif (strpos($server, '/raw/branch/') !== false) {
-            $fail('update server uses a legacy raw/branch URL; use the dynamic MokoGitea feed (…/<org>/<repo>/updates.xml)');
+            $fail('update server uses a legacy raw/branch URL; use the dynamic MokoGitea feed');
         } else {
             $ok("update server: $server");
         }
@@ -123,6 +140,39 @@ if (is_file($manifest)) {
     }
 }
 
+// 4) Repository metadata via Gitea API (optional) -------------------------
+$apiBase = isset($opts['api-base']) && is_string($opts['api-base']) ? rtrim($opts['api-base'], '/') : '';
+$repoSlug = isset($opts['repo']) && is_string($opts['repo']) ? trim($opts['repo']) : '';
+$token   = isset($opts['token']) && is_string($opts['token']) ? trim($opts['token']) : '';
+if ($apiBase !== '' && $repoSlug !== '' && $token !== '') {
+    echo "\n=== Repository metadata (Gitea API) ===\n";
+    $url  = "$apiBase/repos/$repoSlug";
+    $ctx  = stream_context_create(['http' => [
+        'method'        => 'GET',
+        'header'        => "Authorization: token $token\r\nAccept: application/json\r\n",
+        'ignore_errors' => true,
+        'timeout'       => 15,
+    ]]);
+    $resp = @file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
+    $data = $resp !== false ? json_decode($resp, true) : null;
+    if (!is_array($data) || !isset($data['name'])) {
+        $fail("could not read repo metadata from Gitea API ($url)");
+    } else {
+        trim((string) ($data['description'] ?? '')) !== '' ? $ok('description set')
+            : $fail('repo description is empty');
+        trim((string) ($data['website'] ?? '')) !== '' ? $ok('website set: ' . $data['website'])
+            : $fail('repo website is empty');
+        $topics = $data['topics'] ?? [];
+        (is_array($topics) && count($topics) > 0) ? $ok(count($topics) . ' topic(s) set')
+            : $fail('repo has no topics');
+        ((string) ($data['default_branch'] ?? '')) === 'main' ? $ok('default branch is main')
+            : $fail("default branch is '" . ($data['default_branch'] ?? '') . "' (expected main)");
+    }
+} else {
+    echo "\n=== Repository metadata (Gitea API) ===\n";
+    $note('API args not provided; skipping repo metadata check');
+}
+
 // Output / exit -----------------------------------------------------------
 echo "\n";
 if ($gh && ($f = getenv('GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY'))) {