diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f961508..97db459 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@ node_modules
 .env*
 *.log
 .DS_Store
+tests/shots/
diff --git a/tests/live-check.mjs b/tests/live-check.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3942461
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/live-check.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// LIVE check against https://bidaangmamamayan.com (production, real crawl).
+// Verifies: front page renders real stories, disclaimer present, board accepts
+// a post THROUGH nginx (X-Forwarded-For -> rate limit), and a rate-limit 429
+// fires when posting 3x from the same IP.
+import pw from "playwright";
+
+const BASE = "https://bidaangmamamayan.com";
+const browser = await pw.chromium.launch();
+const page = await browser.newPage({ viewport: { width: 1280, height: 900 } });
+const errors = [];
+page.on("pageerror", (e) => errors.push("pageerror: " + e.message));
+page.on("console", (m) => { if (m.type() === "error") errors.push("console: " + m.text()); });
+
+await page.goto(BASE, { waitUntil: "domcontentloaded", timeout: 40000 });
+await page.waitForTimeout(3500);
+const body = await page.textContent("body");
+const must = ["BIDA ANG MAMAMAYAN", "DISCLAIMER", "not affiliated with", "Thank You Board"];
+for (const s of must) if (!body.includes(s)) errors.push("missing: " + s);
+const storyCards = await page.locator(".panel.lead, .story").count();
+console.log("story cards (lead+rows):", storyCards);
+await page.screenshot({ path: "/root/projects/bidaangmamamayan/tests/shots/live-front.png" });
+
+// desk count line
+const deskLine = await page.locator(".count").allTextContents();
+console.log("count pills:", deskLine.slice(0, 6).join(" | "));
+
+// board: post 3x from the (same) egress IP through nginx -> 3rd or 4th should 429
+await page.getByRole("link", { name: "Thank You Board" }).click();
+await page.waitForTimeout(1000);
+let accepted = 0, rejected = 0;
+for (let i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
+  await page.fill("#nick", "LiveCheck" + i);
+  await page.fill("#msg", `Live board check post number ${i + 1} — thank you Senator BAM.`);
+  await page.locator("button.go").click();
+  await page.waitForTimeout(700);
+  const err = await page.locator(".err").textContent().catch(() => null);
+  const list = await page.locator(".postlist").textContent().catch(() => "");
+  if (err && /slow down|plenty of thanks/i.test(err)) { rejected++; console.log("post " + (i + 1) + ": RATE-LIMITED (good)"); }
+  else if (list.includes("LiveCheck" + i)) { accepted++; console.log("post " + (i + 1) + ": accepted + rendered"); }
+  else { console.log("post " + (i + 1) + ": " + (err ? "rejected: " + err.slice(0, 50) : "unknown state")); }
+}
+console.log("accepted=" + accepted + " rejected=" + rejected);
+if (rejected === 0) errors.push("expected at least one rate-limit 429 from the same egress IP");
+await page.screenshot({ path: "/root/projects/bidaangmamamayan/tests/shots/live-board.png" });
+
+console.log(errors.length ? "LIVE ERRORS:\n" + errors.join("\n") : "LIVE CLEAN — no page errors, board rate-limit fires");
+await browser.close();
+process.exit(errors.length ? 1 : 0);