diff --git a/.kiro/specs/controller-status/tasks.md b/.kiro/specs/controller-status/tasks.md
index 58c4a717..66e90b9e 100644
--- a/.kiro/specs/controller-status/tasks.md
+++ b/.kiro/specs/controller-status/tasks.md
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@
   - _Requirements: 1.3, 3.3, 5.1, 5.2, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3_
   - _Boundary: cmd_ctrlstatus_
   - _Depends: 3.1_
-- [ ] 4.2 Switch wait-primary to the authoritative status probe
+- [x] 4.2 Switch wait-primary to the authoritative status probe
   - Replace the wait-primary probe (currently a job-list call) with the authoritative reach-the-primary status call. Success is an authoritative reply from the primary; on success, print the primary's identity. A standby/hint answer is not success — the probe follows the redirect or keeps polling until the primary answers or the deadline elapses. Preserve the existing timeout-argument handling, monotonic deadline, poll interval, log-quieting, and success/failure exit semantics.
   - Observable: against a healthy cluster wait-primary returns and names the primary; a malformed timeout still errors; the existing exit-code behavior is unchanged; and it does not succeed from a standby-only answer.
   - _Requirements: 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4_
diff --git a/src/controller/testsuite/test.c b/src/controller/testsuite/test.c
index 99be18c0..e3a52023 100644
--- a/src/controller/testsuite/test.c
+++ b/src/controller/testsuite/test.c
@@ -1083,23 +1083,28 @@ int cmd_expect_job(int argc, char* argv[])
     return 0;
 }
 
-/* `wait-primary [timeout_ms]` (xce-test-e2e-primitives task 6.1, Req 4.1-4.4,
- * design.md cmd_wait_primary).
+/* `wait-primary [timeout_ms]` (controller-status task 4.2, Req 9.1-9.4;
+ * originally xce-test-e2e-primitives task 6.1; design.md "cmd_wait_primary probe
+ * swap — State contract").
  *
- * Blocks until a cheap, failover-aware client op succeeds, or the timeout
- * elapses. The probe is the print-free joblist_query(NULL, NULL, 0): it drives
- * active_ctx + libxce master-rotation/failover and returns a job count (>= 0)
- * only when a primary actually served the request, or < 0 on error (Req 4.1).
+ * Blocks until the AUTHORITATIVE controller status probe reaches the serving
+ * primary, or the timeout elapses. The probe is xcecli_ctrlstatus_primary: it
+ * drives active_ctx + libxce master-rotation/failover and returns 0 ONLY when a
+ * reply with responderRole == PRIMARY was obtained (it internally follows the
+ * redirect to the primary), or a typed negative when no primary answered within
+ * its budget (Req 9.1). A standby/hint answer is NOT success — the probe keeps
+ * polling until the primary itself answers (this avoids a false success on a
+ * standby's stale primary view after a primary death).
  *
- * On the first successful probe we return 0 (Req 4.2). Otherwise we sleep a
- * short poll interval and retry, re-checking a MONOTONIC deadline between
- * attempts so the command returns within a bounded time of the timeout and
- * never hangs indefinitely when there is no primary (Req 4.3). The deadline is
- * derived from CLOCK_MONOTONIC, never wall-clock, so a clock step cannot skew
- * it.
+ * On the first authoritative probe we print the served primary's identity and
+ * return 0 (Req 9.2). Otherwise we sleep a short poll interval and retry,
+ * re-checking a MONOTONIC deadline between attempts so the command returns
+ * within a bounded time of the timeout and never hangs indefinitely when there
+ * is no primary (Req 9.3). The deadline is derived from CLOCK_MONOTONIC, never
+ * wall-clock, so a clock step cannot skew it.
  *
  * The timeout is argv[1] in milliseconds when supplied, else
- * WAIT_PRIMARY_DEFAULT_MS (Req 4.4). A malformed timeout argument is a usage
+ * WAIT_PRIMARY_DEFAULT_MS (Req 9.4). A malformed timeout argument is a usage
  * error (return < 0) rather than a silent fallback to the default. */
 #define WAIT_PRIMARY_DEFAULT_MS 30000L /* default max wait when arg omitted */
 #define WAIT_PRIMARY_POLL_MS    200L   /* sleep between probe attempts       */
@@ -1149,26 +1154,42 @@ int cmd_wait_primary(int argc, char* argv[])
     start_ms = monotonic_ms();
 
     /* The poll probes repeatedly and EXPECTS failure until a primary serves, so
-     * it must not spam the console: the probe suppresses its own error print
-     * (quiet=1), and we raise the client log threshold for the duration of the
-     * loop to silence libxce's per-attempt "xcecli failover: attempt N" INFO
-     * logs — RESTORED to the user's level on every exit path. */
+     * it must not spam the console: xcecli_ctrlstatus_primary suppresses its own
+     * per-attempt output, and we raise the client log threshold for the duration
+     * of the loop to silence libxce's per-attempt "xcecli failover: attempt N"
+     * INFO logs — RESTORED to the user's level on every exit path. */
     mylog_setlevel((char*)"warn");
 
     /* Probe, then re-check the monotonic deadline between attempts. Each probe
-     * may itself take time (libxce failover has its own internal retry budget);
-     * we re-read the clock after every probe returns so the overall loop honors
-     * the deadline and returns failure in bounded time. */
+     * may itself take time (libxce failover + redirect-to-primary has its own
+     * internal retry budget); we re-read the clock after every probe returns so
+     * the overall loop honors the deadline and returns failure in bounded time. */
     for (;;) {
-        int rc = joblist_query(NULL, NULL, 0, /*quiet=*/1);
+        xce_ctrlstatus_t* status = NULL;
+        int               rc     = xcecli_ctrlstatus_primary(active_ctx->ctx,
+                                                             &status);
+
+        /* Success ONLY on an authoritative reply from the serving primary
+         * (responderRole == PRIMARY, guaranteed by xcecli_ctrlstatus_primary).
+         * Print the served primary's identity (the responder IS the primary, so
+         * primaryName == responderName) and free the reply (Req 9.1, 9.2). */
+        if (rc == 0) {
+            const char* primary = (status != NULL)
+                                      ? (NULLSTR(status->primaryName)
+                                             ? status->responderName
+                                             : status->primaryName)
+                                      : NULL;
 
-        if (rc >= 0) {
             elapsed_ms = monotonic_ms() - start_ms;
             mylog_setlevel(g_active_loglevel);
-            printf("wait-primary: primary serving after %ld ms\n", elapsed_ms);
+            printf("wait-primary: primary '%s' serving after %ld ms\n",
+                   NULLSTR(primary) ? "unknown" : primary, elapsed_ms);
+            xcecli_free_ctrlstatus(status);
             return 0;
         }
 
+        /* Non-authoritative / failed probe: nothing to free (the typed-failure
+         * contract leaves *status untouched), keep polling until the deadline. */
         elapsed_ms = monotonic_ms() - start_ms;
 
         if (elapsed_ms >= timeout_ms) {