diff --git a/chat/runtime.py b/chat/runtime.py
index 63142997..2f098a25 100644
--- a/chat/runtime.py
+++ b/chat/runtime.py
@@ -505,6 +505,15 @@ class ChatResponse:
     dispatch_trace: DispatchTrace | None = None
 
 
+@dataclass(frozen=True, slots=True)
+class IdleTickResult:
+    """Outcome of one ``idle_tick`` — proposal-only learning, never ratification."""
+
+    candidates_contemplated: int
+    proposals_created: int
+    pending_proposals: int
+
+
 class ChatRuntime:
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -683,6 +692,17 @@ class ChatRuntime:
             self.config, get_git_revision()
         )
         self._loaded_engine_identity: str = ""
+        # CL — the persistent reviewed-learning proposal log. ``idle_tick()``
+        # advances it during idle (proposal-only); it lives alongside the engine
+        # state so the learning backlog survives reboot. None for no_load_state
+        # (ephemeral runtimes don't accumulate a learning lineage).
+        self._proposal_log: Any | None = None
+        if self._engine_state_store is not None:
+            from teaching.proposals import ProposalLog
+
+            self._proposal_log = ProposalLog(
+                path=self._engine_state_store.path / "proposals.jsonl"
+            )
         # L11 — set True on reboot when the stamped checkpoint identity differs
         # from the recomputed identity (the ratified substrate changed while down).
         self.identity_continuity_break: bool = False
@@ -783,6 +803,75 @@ class ChatRuntime:
         )
         self._loaded_engine_identity = self._engine_identity
 
+    def _count_pending_proposals(self) -> int:
+        if self._proposal_log is None:
+            return 0
+        return sum(
+            1
+            for entry in self._proposal_log.current_state().values()
+            if entry.get("state") == "pending"
+        )
+
+    def idle_tick(self) -> "IdleTickResult":
+        """Advance the reviewed-learning flywheel during idle (NO user turn).
+
+        This is how the engine "learns while it lives": between turns it turns its
+        lived experience (the pending discovery backlog) into reviewable teaching
+        proposals. It contemplates each pending candidate (enrichment) and runs
+        the replay-gated ``propose_from_candidate``, which leaves a PROPOSAL-ONLY
+        ``pending`` entry in the persistent proposal log.
+
+        Teaching safety (CLAUDE.md): an idle tick NEVER ratifies. Ratification —
+        moving a proposal to ``accepted`` and appending to the corpus — stays
+        HITL via ``teaching/review``. The tick only *proposes*; the reviewed loop
+        is not bypassed or duplicated.
+
+        The proposal log and the candidate backlog both live in the engine-state
+        dir, so this learning progress persists across reboot (CL-2).
+        """
+        if self._proposal_log is None or not self._pending_candidates:
+            return IdleTickResult(0, 0, self._count_pending_proposals())
+
+        from teaching.contemplation import contemplate
+        from teaching.proposals import (
+            ProposalError,
+            TeachingChainProposal,
+            _current_revision,
+            propose_from_candidate,
+        )
+        from teaching.source import ProposalSource
+
+        vault_probe = (
+            _vault_probe_for_context(self._context) if self._context else None
+        )
+        contemplated = [
+            contemplate(candidate, vault_probe=vault_probe)
+            for candidate in self._pending_candidates
+        ]
+        created = 0
+        for candidate in contemplated:
+            source = ProposalSource(
+                kind="contemplation",
+                source_id=candidate.candidate_id,
+                emitted_at_revision=_current_revision(),
+            )
+            try:
+                result = propose_from_candidate(
+                    candidate, log=self._proposal_log, source=source
+                )
+            except ProposalError:
+                continue
+            if isinstance(result, TeachingChainProposal):
+                created += 1
+        # Persist the advanced backlog (candidates + lineage); the proposal log
+        # is already file-backed.
+        self.checkpoint_engine_state()
+        return IdleTickResult(
+            candidates_contemplated=len(contemplated),
+            proposals_created=created,
+            pending_proposals=self._count_pending_proposals(),
+        )
+
     def record_recognition_example(
         self,
         tokens: tuple[str, ...],
diff --git a/tests/test_continuous_learning_idle.py b/tests/test_continuous_learning_idle.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..372371d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_continuous_learning_idle.py
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+"""Continuous learning in idle time — CL-1/2/3.
+
+``ChatRuntime.idle_tick()`` advances the reviewed-learning flywheel BETWEEN turns
+(no user input): it contemplates the pending discovery backlog and runs the
+replay-gated, PROPOSAL-ONLY ``propose_from_candidate`` into a persistent proposal
+log. The engine "learns while it lives", and that progress survives reboot.
+
+Teaching safety (CLAUDE.md): an idle tick never ratifies. Raw cold-start
+candidates are ``undetermined`` and the eligibility gate refuses them outright;
+even a determined candidate only reaches ``pending`` — moving to ``accepted`` and
+appending to the corpus stays HITL via ``teaching/review``. No idle tick ever
+emits an ``accepted`` / ``accepted_corpus_append`` event.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from dataclasses import replace
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from chat.runtime import ChatRuntime
+from core.cognition.pipeline import CognitiveTurnPipeline
+from core.config import RuntimeConfig
+from teaching.discovery import EvidencePointer
+
+
+def _drive_backlog(state_dir: Path) -> ChatRuntime:
+    """Run cold-cause turns that emit (undetermined) discovery candidates."""
+    runtime = ChatRuntime(config=RuntimeConfig(), engine_state_path=state_dir)
+    pipe = CognitiveTurnPipeline(runtime=runtime)
+    for subject in ("principle", "narrative", "judgment"):
+        pipe.run(f"What causes {subject}?")
+    return runtime
+
+
+def _make_determined(candidate):
+    """Promote a real discovery candidate to a fully-eligible, determined one."""
+    chain = dict(candidate.proposed_chain)
+    chain.update({"connective": "because", "object": "light"})
+    return replace(
+        candidate,
+        proposed_chain=chain,
+        polarity="affirms",
+        boundary_clean=True,
+        claim_domain="factual",
+        evidence=(
+            EvidencePointer(
+                source="corpus",
+                ref="en_core_cognition_v1:principle",
+                polarity="affirms",
+                epistemic_status="coherent",
+            ),
+        ),
+    )
+
+
+def test_idle_tick_is_noop_on_empty_backlog(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    rt = ChatRuntime(config=RuntimeConfig(), engine_state_path=tmp_path / "es")
+    result = rt.idle_tick()
+    assert result.candidates_contemplated == 0
+    assert result.proposals_created == 0
+    assert result.pending_proposals == 0
+
+
+def test_idle_tick_contemplates_the_pending_backlog(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    rt = _drive_backlog(tmp_path / "es")
+    n_backlog = len(rt._pending_candidates)
+    assert n_backlog >= 1  # cold-cause turns produced a backlog
+    result = rt.idle_tick()
+    assert result.candidates_contemplated == n_backlog
+
+
+def test_idle_tick_refuses_undetermined_candidates(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    # Cold-start candidates are undetermined: the engine has not decided whether
+    # they are true, so it must NOT propose them.
+    rt = _drive_backlog(tmp_path / "es")
+    assert all(c.polarity == "undetermined" for c in rt._pending_candidates)
+    result = rt.idle_tick()
+    assert result.proposals_created == 0
+
+
+def test_idle_tick_proposes_determined_candidate_but_never_ratifies(
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    rt = _drive_backlog(tmp_path / "es")
+    # Inject a fully-determined, eligible candidate (as if the engine had
+    # determined polarity through grounding/review).
+    rt._pending_candidates = [_make_determined(rt._pending_candidates[0])]
+    rt.idle_tick()
+
+    assert rt._proposal_log is not None
+    events = rt._proposal_log.events()
+    # The proposal path was exercised, but NOTHING was ratified.
+    assert not any(
+        ev.get("event") == "transition" and ev.get("to") == "accepted" for ev in events
+    )
+    assert not any(ev.get("event") == "accepted_corpus_append" for ev in events)
+    # Any proposal that exists is pending (HITL review not bypassed).
+    state = rt._proposal_log.current_state()
+    assert all(v.get("state") == "pending" for v in state.values())
+
+
+def test_idle_learning_persists_across_reboot(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    state_dir = tmp_path / "es"
+    rt_a = _drive_backlog(state_dir)
+    rt_a._pending_candidates = [_make_determined(rt_a._pending_candidates[0])]
+    rt_a.idle_tick()
+    pending_before = rt_a._count_pending_proposals()
+    backlog_before = len(rt_a._pending_candidates)
+
+    # Reboot: a fresh runtime over the same engine-state dir.
+    rt_b = ChatRuntime(config=RuntimeConfig(), engine_state_path=state_dir)
+    # The proposal log and the candidate backlog both survived.
+    assert rt_b._count_pending_proposals() == pending_before
+    assert len(rt_b._pending_candidates) == backlog_before