diff --git a/docs/why-base-bash-libs.md b/docs/why-base-bash-libs.md
index 3ead281..e0e2d27 100644
--- a/docs/why-base-bash-libs.md
+++ b/docs/why-base-bash-libs.md
@@ -19,6 +19,86 @@ Beacon is useful evidence because it consumes only the public API committed in
 | Repeat checked directory, file, and command handling | `base_std_safe_mkdir`, `base_std_safe_truncate`, and `base_std_run` provide consistent failure behavior | Bundle layout, manifest format, and domain-specific diagnostics |
 | Display the dependency that actually ran | `base_require_version` and the immutable `BASE_BASH_LIBS_VERSION`, `BASE_BASH_LIBS_COMMIT`, `BASE_BASH_LIBS_DIRTY_STATE`, and `BASE_BASH_LIBS_PROVENANCE` values expose package identity | Beacon's independent application version and release lifecycle |
 
+## Code-level before and after
+
+The following examples are illustrative, not Beacon's history. They show the
+kind of plumbing a small Bash application would otherwise have to maintain.
+The `before` version is intentionally short but runnable; the `after` version
+uses the same public contracts that Beacon exercises.
+
+<!-- BEGIN BEFORE AFTER CLI -->
+### Command parsing and dispatch
+
+Before, an application has to keep option parsing, usage text, validation, and
+dispatch consistent by hand:
+
+```bash
+set -eu
+
+usage() {
+    printf 'usage: %s [-o PATH] {status|collect}\n' "${0##*/}"
+}
+
+output=''
+while getopts ':o:h' option; do
+    case "$option" in
+        o) output="$OPTARG" ;;
+        h) usage; exit 0 ;;
+        :) printf 'missing value for -%s\n' "$OPTARG" >&2; usage >&2; exit 2 ;;
+        \?) printf 'unknown option: -%s\n' "$OPTARG" >&2; usage >&2; exit 2 ;;
+    esac
+done
+shift "$((OPTIND - 1))"
+
+case "${1-}" in
+    status) printf 'status=ready\n' ;;
+    collect) printf 'collecting=%s\n' "${output:-default}" ;;
+    *) usage >&2; exit 2 ;;
+esac
+```
+
+After, the CLI contract generates help, option validation, and dispatch from
+one declaration boundary:
+
+```bash
+base_cli_model_init beacon name=beacon version=0.1.0 \
+    description="Offline support-bundle collector" handler=beacon_dispatch
+base_cli_command beacon status "Show fixture and framework readiness" handler=beacon_dispatch
+base_cli_command beacon collect "Create a redacted support bundle" handler=beacon_dispatch
+base_cli_option beacon "" output value --output help="Support bundle directory" metavar=PATH
+```
+<!-- END BEFORE AFTER CLI -->
+
+<!-- BEGIN BEFORE AFTER CLEANUP -->
+### Temporary-directory cleanup
+
+Before, an application owns a trap and must preserve it when another cleanup
+path or signal handler is added later:
+
+```bash
+stage="$(mktemp -d)"
+cleanup_stage() {
+    rm -rf -- "$stage"
+}
+trap cleanup_stage EXIT
+printf 'staging=%s\n' "$stage"
+```
+
+After, Base Bash composes cleanup ownership and lets the application transfer a
+published path explicitly:
+
+```bash
+base_std_make_temp_dir stage beacon-demo
+printf 'staging=%s\n' "$stage"
+base_std_unregister_cleanup_path "$stage"
+```
+
+The lifecycle contract is executable evidence, not just prose:
+`bats --filter 'cleanup evidence failure' tests/lifecycle.bats` demonstrates
+that a cleanup-log failure does not replace the application's successful exit
+status.
+<!-- END BEFORE AFTER CLEANUP -->
+
 For example, `beacon_collect` asks `base_std_make_temp_dir` for a staging
 directory. The framework registers that path with its composed cleanup
 lifecycle. Beacon can return from any later failure without adding a second
diff --git a/tests/docs-before-after.sh b/tests/docs-before-after.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..fe0eb76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs-before-after.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+docs_before_after_root="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd -P)"
+docs_before_after_source="$docs_before_after_root/docs/why-base-bash-libs.md"
+docs_before_after_tmp="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/beacon-before-after.XXXXXX")"
+
+docs_before_after_cleanup() {
+    rm -rf -- "$docs_before_after_tmp"
+}
+trap docs_before_after_cleanup EXIT
+
+docs_before_after_extract() {
+    local marker_start="$1" marker_end="$2" destination="$3"
+    awk -v marker_start="$marker_start" -v marker_end="$marker_end" '
+        $0 == marker_start { in_region = 1; next }
+        $0 == marker_end { exit }
+        in_region && /^```bash$/ { in_code = 1; next }
+        in_region && /^```$/ { in_code = 0; next }
+        in_region && in_code { print }
+    ' "$docs_before_after_source" > "$destination"
+    [[ -s "$destination" ]]
+    /usr/bin/env bash -n "$destination"
+    shellcheck --shell=bash "$destination"
+}
+
+docs_before_after_extract \
+    '<!-- BEGIN BEFORE AFTER CLI -->' \
+    '<!-- END BEFORE AFTER CLI -->' \
+    "$docs_before_after_tmp/cli.sh"
+docs_before_after_extract \
+    '<!-- BEGIN BEFORE AFTER CLEANUP -->' \
+    '<!-- END BEFORE AFTER CLEANUP -->' \
+    "$docs_before_after_tmp/cleanup.sh"
+
+printf 'Before-and-after documentation examples passed ShellCheck.\n'
diff --git a/tests/docs-contracts.sh b/tests/docs-contracts.sh
index ab7804b..8ac6333 100755
--- a/tests/docs-contracts.sh
+++ b/tests/docs-contracts.sh
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ grep -Fq '[adoption decision guide](should-i-use-base-bash-libs.md)' "$docs_cont
 grep -Fq '[five-minute Beacon tutorial](five-minute-tutorial.md)' "$docs_contract_decision"
 grep -Fq '[Beacon documentation and recommended reading path](docs/README.md)' "$docs_contract_readme"
 grep -Fq '[use Base Bash in your project](docs/use-in-your-project.md)' "$docs_contract_readme"
+grep -Fq '## Code-level before and after' "$docs_contract_why"
+grep -Fq 'BEGIN BEFORE AFTER CLI' "$docs_contract_why"
+grep -Fq 'BEGIN BEFORE AFTER CLEANUP' "$docs_contract_why"
+grep -Fq "bats --filter 'cleanup evidence failure' tests/lifecycle.bats" "$docs_contract_why"
 
 docs_contract_expected_example="$(
     sed -n '/^<!-- BEGIN MINIMAL CONSUMER -->$/,/^<!-- END MINIMAL CONSUMER -->$/p' \
diff --git a/tests/docs-examples.sh b/tests/docs-examples.sh
index 164e8b8..e10e5d0 100755
--- a/tests/docs-examples.sh
+++ b/tests/docs-examples.sh
@@ -31,4 +31,6 @@ shellcheck --shell=bash "$example_script"
     /usr/bin/env bash "$example_script"
 )
 
+/usr/bin/env bash "$docs_root/tests/docs-before-after.sh"
+
 printf 'Runnable documentation examples passed.\n'
diff --git a/tests/validate.sh b/tests/validate.sh
index 5cf11c1..234f6b8 100755
--- a/tests/validate.sh
+++ b/tests/validate.sh
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ command -v shellcheck > /dev/null 2>&1 || {
     printf 'shellcheck is required.\n' >&2
     exit 1
 }
-shellcheck bin/beacon examples/minimal-cli lib/beacon.sh scripts/release-artifact scripts/verify-vendor scripts/resolve-framework-ref tests/validate.sh tests/bash-42-smoke.sh tests/candidate-smoke.sh tests/docs-examples.sh tests/docs-contracts.sh tests/external-consumer-walkthrough.sh tests/minimal-consumer.sh tests/release-artifact.sh || exit $?
+shellcheck bin/beacon examples/minimal-cli lib/beacon.sh scripts/release-artifact scripts/verify-vendor scripts/resolve-framework-ref tests/validate.sh tests/bash-42-smoke.sh tests/candidate-smoke.sh tests/docs-examples.sh tests/docs-before-after.sh tests/docs-contracts.sh tests/external-consumer-walkthrough.sh tests/minimal-consumer.sh tests/release-artifact.sh || exit $?
 
 ./tests/docs-examples.sh || exit $?
 ./tests/docs-contracts.sh || exit $?