diff --git a/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/ax_grep.py b/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/ax_grep.py
index 52d45d16..4bd426ee 100644
--- a/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/ax_grep.py
+++ b/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/ax_grep.py
@@ -163,6 +163,9 @@ def path(d, code):
 def context(d, code):
     rows = []
     listed = set()
+    # first: where a name the task writes is called though nothing declares it — the code to write is used there
+    for u in d.get('called_undeclared', []):
+        rows.append(('called', site(code, u['at'], f"calls {u['name']}, declared nowhere" + (f" · in {u['in']}" if u.get('in') else '')))); listed.add(u['at'])
     for s in d.get('flow', []):
         if s.get('repeat_of'): continue
         c = s.get('certainty') or 'entry'
diff --git a/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/axiomcode-context b/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/axiomcode-context
index 7052d34c..e7dc81f2 100755
--- a/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/axiomcode-context
+++ b/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/axiomcode-context
@@ -64,6 +64,30 @@ TEST_PENALTY = 0.05          # demoted by 20x, never dropped: sometimes the test
 COMMON_PATH = 0.25           # a word in more than a quarter of the file paths earns no path bonus
 
 
+
+def called_undeclared(g, body, cap=8):
+    """{name: [(file, line, caller, code)]} for identifiers the task writes that the code CALLS but declares nowhere.
+    The IDF ranker only knows declared names, so a task about a function the code already calls and nobody has written
+    yet ("implement numpy_to_votable_dtype") lost that word before ranking. The call sites are where the new function
+    is used: the one thing a search would find and the graph did not say."""
+    if not (g.has('call_sites') and g.has('unresolved_sites')): return {}
+    ids = sorted({w for w in re.findall(r'[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]{3,}', body)})
+    if not ids: return {}
+    ph = ','.join('?' * len(ids))
+    declared = {r[0] for r in g.q(f"SELECT DISTINCT name FROM symbols WHERE name IN ({ph}) AND kind NOT IN ('library', 'written')", *ids)}
+    rows = g.q(f"SELECT cs.callee_name n, cs.file_path f, cs.start_line l, cs.caller_id c FROM call_sites cs "
+               f"JOIN unresolved_sites u ON u.call_site_id = cs.id WHERE cs.callee_name IN ({ph}) ORDER BY cs.file_path, cs.start_line", *ids)
+    out = {}; lines = {}
+    for r in rows:
+        if r['n'] in declared or len(out.get(r['n'], [])) >= cap: continue
+        f = g.site_file(r['f']) if hasattr(g, 'site_file') else r['f']
+        if f not in lines:
+            try: lines[f] = open(os.path.join(g.repo, f), errors='replace').read().split('\n')
+            except OSError: lines[f] = []
+        L = lines[f]; code = L[r['l'] - 1].strip() if r['l'] and r['l'] <= len(L) else ''
+        out.setdefault(r['n'], []).append((f, r['l'], g.disp(r['c']) if r['c'] in g.sym else '', code[:160]))
+    return out
+
 def score_symbols(g, terms, use_path=True):
     """{symbol id: (score, matched terms)} — the lexical tier, IDF-weighted.
 
@@ -934,6 +958,15 @@ def main(argv):
     RESULT['task'], RESULT['repo'] = task, g.repo
 
     body = task_text(task)
+    # before anything that can stop the answer (no terms, no scope): a name the code calls and nobody declares is an
+    # answer on its own, and "implement <that name>" is often all the task says
+    undecl = called_undeclared(g, body)
+    RESULT['called_undeclared'] = [{'name': n, 'at': f"{f}:{l}", 'in': c, 'code': code} for n, rs in undecl.items() for f, l, c, code in rs]
+    if undecl:
+        print("\ncalled but declared nowhere (the task names them; the code already calls them — this is where they are used):")
+        for n, rs in undecl.items():
+            print(f"    {n}  — {len(rs)} call site(s)")
+            for f, l, c, code in rs: print(f"      {f}:{l}: {code}" + (f"   [in {c}]" if c else ''))
     terms = task_terms(body)
     if not terms: die("nothing to search for in that task description")
     # what the question names that no graph here holds is said FIRST (#1571), and a scope that exists on disk but holds
diff --git a/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/axiomcode-impact b/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/axiomcode-impact
index fbd91552..11451c98 100755
--- a/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/axiomcode-impact
+++ b/plugins/axiomcode/skills/axiomcode/scripts/axiomcode-impact
@@ -2295,6 +2295,17 @@ def main(argv):
         print(f"axiomcode-scope-declared: {int(scoped_in)}", file=sys.stderr)
     targets_files =[t for k, _, pay in targets for t in (pay if isinstance(pay, list) else []) if isinstance(t, str) and t in g.sym]
     prof('targets resolved'); res = I.run(targets); prof('souffle done')
+    # A NAME THAT IS CALLED BUT DECLARED NOWHERE. The path finder's resolver takes such a name to the call sites written
+    # with it (a node `w:<name>`, its rows in g.SITES), but the rules cannot seed on a node the graph does not hold, so
+    # the answer said "directly touches it: nothing" and "the change is local" about a name with callers. That is the
+    # question asked when writing a function the code already calls: each of those sites is a direct row, by name.
+    for q_, lab in res['_targets'].items():
+        for k, klab, ids in targets:
+            if k != 'name match' or klab != lab: continue
+            for i in ids:
+                for r in getattr(g, 'SITES', {}).get(i, []):
+                    res['direct'].append([r['caller_id'], 'uses', 'calls it (no declaration of this name)', 'by name',
+                                          g.site_file(r['file_path']) or '', str(r['start_line'] or 0), q_])
     LAB = res['_targets']; multi = len(LAB) > 1
     contract_of = collections.defaultdict(set)
     for c, why, q_ in res['contract']: contract_of[(c, why)].add(LAB[q_])
diff --git a/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/case.json b/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/case.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..01e09220
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/case.json
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+{"lang": "python", "src": "src",
+ "checks": [
+  {"why": "a function the code calls and nobody has written yet: impact lists every call site, where the new function is used",
+   "run": ["impact", "apply_discount"],
+   "want": ["[by name] total", "pricing.py:6", "[by name] invoice", "pricing.py:10", "calls it (no declaration of this name)"],
+   "avoid": ["directly touches it: nothing the graph can see", "the change is local"]},
+  {"why": "the same answer from a task that names the missing function, even when it is the task's only word the graph lacks",
+   "run": ["context", "implement apply_discount"], "expect_error": true,
+   "want": ["called but declared nowhere", "apply_discount  — 2 call site(s)", "pricing.py:6: return apply_discount(net) * (1 + vat_rate())   [in total]"]},
+  {"why": "control: a declared function is never listed as called-but-undeclared",
+   "run": ["context", "how is vat_rate used in total"],
+   "avoid": ["called but declared nowhere"]},
+  {"why": "control: a declared function's impact answers from the graph, not by name",
+   "run": ["impact", "vat_rate"],
+   "want": ["[resolved] total"],
+   "avoid": ["no declaration of this name"]}]}
diff --git a/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/src/shop/__init__.py b/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/src/shop/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/src/shop/pricing.py b/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/src/shop/pricing.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6efb21dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/src/shop/pricing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+from shop.rates import vat_rate
+
+
+def total(items):
+    net = sum(i.price for i in items)
+    return apply_discount(net) * (1 + vat_rate())
+
+
+def invoice(items):
+    return {"total": total(items), "net": apply_discount(sum(i.price for i in items))}
diff --git a/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/src/shop/rates.py b/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/src/shop/rates.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..12d9c146
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/cases/python/called-but-undeclared/src/shop/rates.py
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+def vat_rate():
+    return 0.2