diff --git a/.github/workflows/cicd.yml b/.github/workflows/cicd.yml
index ed9f4c06c5..62243d6182 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cicd.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cicd.yml
@@ -356,19 +356,23 @@ jobs:
           START=$(date +%s)
           deno task coverage:ci:shard -- --shard=${{ matrix.shard }}/4 --coverage-dir=coverage-shard-${{ matrix.shard }}
           echo "duration=$(($(date +%s) - START))s" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-      - name: Include dependency history integration coverage
+      - name: Include CLI and dependency history integration coverage
         if: matrix.shard == 1
         run: |
-          rm -rf coverage-history
+          rm -rf coverage-history coverage-cli
           deno task test:file --coverage=coverage-history \
             tests/integration/semantic-unit-boundary/src/platform/adapters/fs/veryfront/dependency-metadata-history.test.ts \
             tests/integration/semantic-unit-boundary/src/platform/adapters/veryfront-api-client/dependency-metadata-history.test.ts \
             tests/integration/semantic-unit-boundary/src/transforms/esm/package-registry-metadata-history.test.ts
+          # The CLI regression changes cwd, so give it a separate process.
+          deno task test:file --coverage=coverage-cli \
+            tests/integration/cli/merge-preview.integration.test.ts
           deno coverage coverage-history --include=src/ --include=cli/ --exclude=/tests/ --exclude=/__tests__/ --lcov > coverage-history.lcov
+          deno coverage coverage-cli --include=src/ --include=cli/ --exclude=/tests/ --exclude=/__tests__/ --lcov > coverage-cli.lcov
           deno eval '
             import { mergeLcovReports } from "./scripts/test/coverage-ci.ts";
             const target = "coverage-shard-1/lcov.info";
-            const reports = await Promise.all([target, "coverage-history.lcov"].map(path => Deno.readTextFile(path)));
+            const reports = await Promise.all([target, "coverage-history.lcov", "coverage-cli.lcov"].map(path => Deno.readTextFile(path)));
             await Deno.writeTextFile(target, mergeLcovReports(reports));
           '
       - name: Upload unit coverage lcov
diff --git a/cli/commands/merge/command-help.ts b/cli/commands/merge/command-help.ts
index f457c6b954..b778eaefb3 100644
--- a/cli/commands/merge/command-help.ts
+++ b/cli/commands/merge/command-help.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,6 @@ export const mergeHelp: CommandHelp = {
     "Requires VERYFRONT_API_TOKEN env var or veryfront.json config",
     "A self-hosted apiUrl in veryfront.json or a project .env file needs a token from that same file, or VERYFRONT_API_URL set in your shell or CI environment to confirm the host",
     "Use --dry-run to preview which files would be merged",
-    "Conflicts are reported but must be resolved in Studio",
+    "--dry-run reports conflicting file paths; resolve those conflicts in Studio",
   ],
 };
diff --git a/cli/commands/merge/command.ts b/cli/commands/merge/command.ts
index f31dd765a8..acb145ac19 100644
--- a/cli/commands/merge/command.ts
+++ b/cli/commands/merge/command.ts
@@ -71,8 +71,8 @@ interface MergeResponse {
  * Merge preview diff item
  */
 interface MergePreviewDiff {
-  path: string;
-  has_conflict: boolean;
+  file_path: string;
+  has_conflicts: boolean;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -190,13 +190,13 @@ export async function mergeCommand(options: MergeOptions): Promise<void> {
     );
     spinner.stop();
 
-    const conflicts = diffs.filter((d) => d.has_conflict);
+    const conflicts = diffs.filter((d) => d.has_conflicts);
 
     logInfo(`Would merge ${diffs.length} files from "${branch}" into ${targetName}`);
     if (conflicts.length > 0) {
       cliLogger.warn(`  ${conflicts.length} file(s) have conflicts`);
       for (const conflict of conflicts) {
-        cliLogger.warn(`    - ${conflict.path}`);
+        cliLogger.warn(`    - ${conflict.file_path}`);
       }
     }
     return;
diff --git a/scripts/test/suites.ts b/scripts/test/suites.ts
index 8b79e3731d..c83304c7d8 100644
--- a/scripts/test/suites.ts
+++ b/scripts/test/suites.ts
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ export const UNIT_CWD_FILES: readonly string[] = Object.freeze([
 const CWD_MUTATING_TEST_FILES = new Set([
   ...UNIT_CWD_FILES,
   "tests/integration/adapters/shell-adapter.test.ts",
+  "tests/integration/cli/merge-preview.integration.test.ts",
   "tests/integration/cli/mcp/standalone-auth-scaffold.test.ts",
   "tests/integration/semantic-unit-boundary/cli/scaffold/missing-parent-race.test.ts",
 ]);
diff --git a/tests/integration/cli/merge-preview.integration.test.ts b/tests/integration/cli/merge-preview.integration.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..42d0deaae1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/cli/merge-preview.integration.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+import "#veryfront/schemas/_test-setup.ts";
+import { assertEquals } from "#veryfront/testing/assert.ts";
+import { describe, it } from "#veryfront/testing/bdd.ts";
+import { withMockFetch } from "#veryfront/testing/mock-fetch.ts";
+import { makeTempDir } from "#veryfront/testing/deno-compat.ts";
+import { _resetEnvironmentConfig } from "#veryfront/config/environment-config.ts";
+import { cliLogger } from "../../../cli/utils/index.ts";
+import { mergeCommand } from "../../../cli/commands/merge/command.ts";
+
+describe("merge dry-run REST contract", () => {
+  it("finds a branch on the next page and reports canonical conflict paths without merging", async () => {
+    const originalDirectory = Deno.cwd();
+    const directory = await makeTempDir();
+    const keys = ["VERYFRONT_API_TOKEN", "VERYFRONT_API_URL", "VERYFRONT_PROJECT_SLUG"];
+    const previous = keys.map((key) => Deno.env.get(key));
+    const originalWarn = cliLogger.warn;
+    const warnings: string[] = [];
+    const requests: string[] = [];
+    try {
+      Deno.chdir(directory);
+      Deno.env.set("VERYFRONT_API_TOKEN", "<TOKEN>");
+      Deno.env.set("VERYFRONT_API_URL", "https://control.example.test");
+      Deno.env.set("VERYFRONT_PROJECT_SLUG", "fixture-project");
+      _resetEnvironmentConfig();
+      cliLogger.warn = (...args: unknown[]) => warnings.push(args.map(String).join(" "));
+      await withMockFetch(async (input, init) => {
+        const request = input instanceof Request ? input : new Request(input, init);
+        const url = new URL(request.url);
+        requests.push(`${request.method} ${url.pathname}${url.search}`);
+        assertEquals(request.method, "GET");
+        if (url.pathname === "/projects/fixture-project/branches") {
+          assertEquals(url.searchParams.get("search"), "fixture");
+          assertEquals(url.searchParams.get("limit"), "100");
+          return Response.json(
+            url.searchParams.has("cursor")
+              ? {
+                data: [{ id: "branch-id", name: "fixture", project_id: "project-id" }],
+                page_info: { next: null },
+              }
+              : {
+                data: [{ id: "other-id", name: "fixture-other", project_id: "project-id" }],
+                page_info: { next: "page-two" },
+              },
+          );
+        }
+        assertEquals(url.pathname, "/projects/fixture-project/branches/branch-id/merge-preview");
+        return Response.json({
+          diffs: [
+            { file_path: "app/page.tsx", has_conflicts: true },
+            { file_path: "app/layout.tsx", has_conflicts: false },
+          ],
+        });
+      }, () => mergeCommand({ branch: "fixture", dryRun: true, force: false }));
+      assertEquals(requests.length, 3);
+      assertEquals(requests[1]?.includes("cursor=page-two"), true);
+      assertEquals(warnings, ["  1 file(s) have conflicts", "    - app/page.tsx"]);
+    } finally {
+      cliLogger.warn = originalWarn;
+      Deno.chdir(originalDirectory);
+      keys.forEach((key, i) => {
+        if (previous[i] === undefined) Deno.env.delete(key);
+        else Deno.env.set(key, previous[i]);
+      });
+      _resetEnvironmentConfig();
+      await Deno.remove(directory, { recursive: true });
+    }
+  });
+});