diff --git a/.planning/STATE.md b/.planning/STATE.md
index c61a70e..54e693c 100644
--- a/.planning/STATE.md
+++ b/.planning/STATE.md
@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@ Recent decisions affecting current work:
 
 - **Named config presets + JSON export/import** — v1.5 candidate; supersedes/extends V2-06 (SPEC.md Roadmap item 6). Research captured in `todos/pending/2026-07-03-config-presets-export-import.md`
 - **Declutter switch (non-core menu items → bottom section)** — v1.5 candidate; needs discuss/feasibility pass (top_order precedence, CPT handling). Research captured in `todos/pending/2026-07-03-declutter-switch-non-core-menu-items.md`
+- **Research Admin Menu Editor (Jānis Elsts) prior art** — v1.5 candidate; research spike on how AME handles Maestro's tricky parts (menu identity/slug drift, replay against live globals, submenu targeting, per-role/per-user hiding, separators). Research captured in `todos/pending/2026-07-05-research-admin-menu-editor-prior-art.md`
 - **V2-15 (backlog)** — role cloning for per-user menu hiding: superseded by ROLE-01/ROLE-02 in the v1.4 roadmap (Phases 19/21); no longer separately deferred
 - **COMPAT-04, COMPAT-07, COMPAT-10, DEMO-01** — no longer deferred; mapped to v1.4 Phases 20 and 22
 
diff --git a/.planning/todos/pending/2026-07-05-research-admin-menu-editor-prior-art.md b/.planning/todos/pending/2026-07-05-research-admin-menu-editor-prior-art.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..061a46d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.planning/todos/pending/2026-07-05-research-admin-menu-editor-prior-art.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+---
+created: 2026-07-05T00:00:00.000Z
+title: Research Admin Menu Editor (Jānis Elsts) for prior art on the tricky parts
+area: research
+files:
+  - includes/class-replay.php (apply overrides against the live $menu/$submenu globals — the seam AME also has to solve)
+  - includes/class-ordering.php (reorder resilience contract for missing/moved items)
+  - includes/class-slug.php (v1.3.0 Slug::normalize — menu-identity drift)
+  - .planning/compat/ (R1 third-party compatibility survey — same problem space)
+---
+
+## Problem / why
+
+Maestro keeps hitting the same hard edges — menu-item **identity** and slug/URL
+drift, **replaying** overrides against the live `$menu`/`$submenu` globals,
+**submenu targeting** without a stable id (our DOM-join weak spot, per
+TESTING.md), **per-role (and future per-user) cosmetic hiding**, separators, and
+third-party menu items that don't behave. Admin Menu Editor by **Jānis Elsts**
+(w-shadow, 300k+ installs, ~10+ years) is the deepest prior art in exactly this
+space and has almost certainly solved — or documented the sharp corners of —
+most of these. Two existing todos already did partial AME prior-art checks;
+this captures a focused, first-class research spike.
+
+## Task (research/analysis — no plugin code)
+
+Analyze how AME handles Maestro's tricky parts and capture reusable ideas +
+pitfalls, framed as **adopt / avoid / differentiate**:
+
+- **Menu identity** — how does it key items (slug vs URL vs generated id) and
+  survive slug/URL drift? Compare to our `Slug::normalize()` + `Ordering`
+  resilience contract.
+- **Apply model** — full menu rebuild vs sparse delta over the live globals;
+  `admin_menu` hook ordering; how it coexists with other plugins that also
+  filter the menu.
+- **Submenu targeting** without a stable id (our index-based `.wp-submenu`
+  DOM-join is the fragile part today).
+- **Visibility model** — per-role / per-user hiding, and how (or whether) it
+  stays cosmetic vs real access control (ties to Phase 19 / Phase 21).
+- **Edge cases** — separators, custom/added items, icon handling; mine their
+  changelog + support forum for recurring-bug patterns worth pre-empting.
+- **Free vs Pro split** — what's gated behind Pro (market-gap signal; already
+  partly noted in the presets todo).
+
+**Deliverable:** a short findings note in `.planning/` (or `.planning/compat/`)
+with adopt/avoid/differentiate bullets feeding v1.5 scoping — not a feature.
+
+Candidate for **v1.5** (research spike). Pairs with
+[[2026-07-03-config-presets-export-import]] and
+[[2026-07-03-declutter-switch-non-core-menu-items]], which already touched AME
+prior art.
+
+Source: Dan's request 2026-07-05.