diff --git a/go/internal/selfupdate/apply.go b/go/internal/selfupdate/apply.go
index 860a9a1..22e09ee 100644
--- a/go/internal/selfupdate/apply.go
+++ b/go/internal/selfupdate/apply.go
@@ -18,8 +18,9 @@ import (
 //
 // Verification order matters: we authenticate checksums.txt (cosign keyless,
 // when available — see verifyChecksumsSignature) BEFORE trusting any digest it
-// contains, then check the archive against that now-trusted digest. Warnings for
-// the cosign-absent / unsigned-release fallback paths go to stderr.
+// contains, then check the archive against that now-trusted digest. When cosign
+// isn't installed the update stays quiet (the checksum still guards the download);
+// set MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN to demand signature verification.
 func (c *Client) Apply(rel *Release, targetPath string) error {
 	archive, err := c.fetch(rel.AssetURL)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ func (c *Client) Apply(rel *Release, targetPath string) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("download checksums: %w", err)
 	}
 	if err := c.verifyChecksumsSignature(rel, sums, func(msg string) {
-		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "warning: "+msg)
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, msg)
 	}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/go/internal/selfupdate/cosign.go b/go/internal/selfupdate/cosign.go
index 3092092..4115d67 100644
--- a/go/internal/selfupdate/cosign.go
+++ b/go/internal/selfupdate/cosign.go
@@ -36,26 +36,36 @@ func cosignIdentityRegexp(repo string) string {
 // genuinely came from THIS repo's release pipeline. It does NOT attest to the
 // source that was built — only to the checksum file's origin.
 //
-// Degradation policy (mirrors install.sh):
-//   - cosign not on PATH       -> warn once, return nil (checksum-only fallback;
-//     keep self-update working for users without cosign).
+// Degradation policy:
+//   - cosign not on PATH       -> stay SILENT and return nil (checksum-only
+//     fallback). Most users don't have cosign installed, and the per-file SHA256
+//     already guards against a corrupted download, so a successful update must not
+//     look like a failure. Set MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN to turn this into a hard error.
 //   - signing assets absent    -> if the release predates signing (no .sig/.pem
-//     URLs at all), warn and fall back. If cosign is present AND the assets are
-//     expected but unfetchable, that is a hard failure.
+//     URLs at all), fall back silently (or hard-fail under MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN). If
+//     cosign is present AND the assets are expected but unfetchable, hard failure.
 //   - verification fails        -> return error; the caller MUST abort the update.
+//   - verification passes       -> emit a positive one-line confirmation via note.
 //
-// warnf receives a single human-readable warning line (no trailing newline) for
-// the fallback cases; pass a stderr writer in production, nil to silence.
-func (c *Client) verifyChecksumsSignature(rel *Release, sums []byte, warnf func(string)) error {
-	warn := func(msg string) {
-		if warnf != nil {
-			warnf(msg)
+// note receives a single human-readable line (no trailing newline) for the success
+// confirmation; pass a stderr writer in production, nil to silence.
+func (c *Client) verifyChecksumsSignature(rel *Release, sums []byte, note func(string)) error {
+	emit := func(msg string) {
+		if note != nil {
+			note(msg)
 		}
 	}
+	// soft degrades a missing-provenance case: silent by default (don't nag the
+	// majority without cosign), a hard error when the operator demands verification.
+	soft := func(reason string) error {
+		if os.Getenv("MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN") != "" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("%s, and MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN is set", reason)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
 
 	if _, err := exec.LookPath("cosign"); err != nil {
-		warn("cosign not found; skipping signature check of checksums.txt (install cosign for supply-chain verification) — falling back to checksum-only")
-		return nil
+		return soft("cosign is not installed, so the release signature was not verified")
 	}
 
 	// A release cut before signing was introduced carries no .sig/.pem. cosign
@@ -63,8 +73,7 @@ func (c *Client) verifyChecksumsSignature(rel *Release, sums []byte, warnf func(
 	// upgrading FROM an old release still works. (The next signed tag is the
 	// first one that will actually exercise verification.)
 	if rel.ChecksumsSigURL == "" || rel.ChecksumsCertURL == "" {
-		warn("release has no cosign signature for checksums.txt (unsigned/legacy release) — falling back to checksum-only")
-		return nil
+		return soft("this release has no cosign signature")
 	}
 
 	sig, err := c.fetch(rel.ChecksumsSigURL)
@@ -107,5 +116,6 @@ func (c *Client) verifyChecksumsSignature(rel *Release, sums []byte, warnf func(
 	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("cosign verify-blob failed for checksums.txt (possible tampering): %w", err)
 	}
+	emit("✓ verified the release signature (cosign keyless)")
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/go/internal/selfupdate/cosign_test.go b/go/internal/selfupdate/cosign_test.go
index 8a066c0..a903be9 100644
--- a/go/internal/selfupdate/cosign_test.go
+++ b/go/internal/selfupdate/cosign_test.go
@@ -36,30 +36,46 @@ func TestCosignIdentityRegexp(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 // TestVerifyChecksumsSignatureNoCosign pins the graceful-degradation contract:
-// with cosign absent from PATH, verification must return nil (fall back to
-// checksum-only) and emit exactly one warning. We force "cosign not found" by
-// pointing PATH at an empty dir for the duration of the test.
+// with cosign absent from PATH, verification returns nil (checksum-only fallback)
+// and stays SILENT — a successful update must not nag the majority who have no
+// cosign. We force "cosign not found" by pointing PATH at an empty dir.
 func TestVerifyChecksumsSignatureNoCosign(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv("PATH", t.TempDir()) // no cosign on this PATH
 	if _, err := exec.LookPath("cosign"); err == nil {
 		t.Skip("cosign unexpectedly resolvable on stripped PATH")
 	}
 
-	var warnings []string
+	var notes []string
 	c := &Client{Repo: "srcfl/miranda"}
 	rel := &Release{ChecksumsSigURL: "http://x/sig", ChecksumsCertURL: "http://x/pem"}
-	if err := c.verifyChecksumsSignature(rel, []byte("sums"), func(m string) { warnings = append(warnings, m) }); err != nil {
+	if err := c.verifyChecksumsSignature(rel, []byte("sums"), func(m string) { notes = append(notes, m) }); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("expected nil (fallback) when cosign absent, got %v", err)
 	}
-	if len(warnings) != 1 || !strings.Contains(warnings[0], "cosign not found") {
-		t.Fatalf("expected one 'cosign not found' warning, got %v", warnings)
+	if len(notes) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected NO output when cosign is absent (don't nag), got %v", notes)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestVerifyChecksumsSignatureStrictRequiresCosign: with MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN set,
+// a missing cosign becomes a hard error so an operator can MANDATE provenance.
+func TestVerifyChecksumsSignatureStrictRequiresCosign(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("PATH", t.TempDir())
+	t.Setenv("MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN", "1")
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("cosign"); err == nil {
+		t.Skip("cosign unexpectedly resolvable on stripped PATH")
+	}
+	c := &Client{Repo: "srcfl/miranda"}
+	rel := &Release{ChecksumsSigURL: "http://x/sig", ChecksumsCertURL: "http://x/pem"}
+	err := c.verifyChecksumsSignature(rel, []byte("sums"), nil)
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected a hard error under MIR_REQUIRE_COSIGN, got %v", err)
 	}
 }
 
 // TestVerifyChecksumsSignatureUnsignedRelease pins that a release WITHOUT
-// signing assets (empty .sig/.pem URLs, e.g. a legacy tag) falls back rather
-// than hard-failing — even when cosign IS installed. We fake a cosign on PATH so
-// the LookPath check passes; it must never be invoked on this path.
+// signing assets (empty .sig/.pem URLs, e.g. a legacy tag) falls back silently
+// rather than hard-failing — even when cosign IS installed. We fake a cosign on
+// PATH so the LookPath check passes; it must never be invoked on this path.
 func TestVerifyChecksumsSignatureUnsignedRelease(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 	fakeCosign := filepath.Join(dir, "cosign")
@@ -69,14 +85,36 @@ func TestVerifyChecksumsSignatureUnsignedRelease(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	t.Setenv("PATH", dir)
 
-	var warnings []string
+	var notes []string
 	c := &Client{Repo: "srcfl/miranda"}
 	rel := &Release{} // no ChecksumsSigURL / ChecksumsCertURL
-	if err := c.verifyChecksumsSignature(rel, []byte("sums"), func(m string) { warnings = append(warnings, m) }); err != nil {
+	if err := c.verifyChecksumsSignature(rel, []byte("sums"), func(m string) { notes = append(notes, m) }); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("expected nil (fallback) for unsigned release, got %v", err)
 	}
-	if len(warnings) != 1 || !strings.Contains(warnings[0], "no cosign signature") {
-		t.Fatalf("expected one 'no cosign signature' warning, got %v", warnings)
+	if len(notes) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected NO output for an unsigned release, got %v", notes)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestVerifyChecksumsSignaturePassEmitsNote: when cosign IS present and verifies,
+// the update emits a positive one-line confirmation (and returns nil).
+func TestVerifyChecksumsSignaturePassEmitsNote(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, "cosign"), []byte("#!/bin/sh\nexit 0\n"), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Setenv("PATH", dir)
+	srv := newBlobServer(t)
+	defer srv.Close()
+
+	var notes []string
+	c := &Client{Repo: "srcfl/miranda", HTTP: srv.Client()}
+	rel := &Release{ChecksumsSigURL: srv.URL + "/sig", ChecksumsCertURL: srv.URL + "/pem"}
+	if err := c.verifyChecksumsSignature(rel, []byte("sums"), func(m string) { notes = append(notes, m) }); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected nil when cosign verifies, got %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(notes) != 1 || !strings.Contains(notes[0], "verified") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected one positive 'verified' note, got %v", notes)
 	}
 }