diff --git a/tailscalectl/lib.js b/tailscalectl/lib.js
index 4dfaba1..b675532 100644
--- a/tailscalectl/lib.js
+++ b/tailscalectl/lib.js
@@ -103,6 +103,11 @@ function buildToggleCommand(isConnected) {
     return isConnected ? ["tailscale", "down"] : ["tailscale", "up"]
 }
 
+// Single source of truth for the status command used for on-demand and post-action verification.
+function getStatusCommand() {
+    return ["tailscale", "status", "--json"]
+}
+
 function errorMessage(cmd) {
     var messages = {
         "up": "Failed to connect to Tailscale",
@@ -128,5 +133,5 @@ function formatError(action, detail) {
 
 // CommonJS export for Node.js tests (ignored by QML)
 if (typeof module !== "undefined" && module.exports) {
-    module.exports = { parsePeers, makeExitNodeCommand, findActiveExitNode, errorMessage, formatError, validateClipboardTool, buildCopyCommand, nextClipboardTool, allClipboardTools, buildToggleCommand, parseStatusResult, getStrings, shouldShowClearExitNode, isActiveExitNode }
+    module.exports = { parsePeers, makeExitNodeCommand, findActiveExitNode, errorMessage, formatError, getStatusCommand, validateClipboardTool, buildCopyCommand, nextClipboardTool, allClipboardTools, buildToggleCommand, parseStatusResult, getStrings, shouldShowClearExitNode, isActiveExitNode }
 }
diff --git a/test/lib.test.js b/test/lib.test.js
index 1ca6db6..22ad0e6 100644
--- a/test/lib.test.js
+++ b/test/lib.test.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { test } from "node:test"
 import assert from "node:assert"
 import lib from "../tailscalectl/lib.js"
-const { parsePeers, makeExitNodeCommand, findActiveExitNode, errorMessage, formatError, validateClipboardTool, buildCopyCommand, nextClipboardTool, allClipboardTools, buildToggleCommand, parseStatusResult, getStrings, shouldShowClearExitNode, isActiveExitNode } = lib
+const { parsePeers, makeExitNodeCommand, findActiveExitNode, errorMessage, formatError, getStatusCommand, validateClipboardTool, buildCopyCommand, nextClipboardTool, allClipboardTools, buildToggleCommand, parseStatusResult, getStrings, shouldShowClearExitNode, isActiveExitNode } = lib
 
 /*
  * Test coverage note for #48:
@@ -260,3 +260,10 @@ test("formatError handles empty or falsy detail gracefully", () => {
     assert.strictEqual(formatError("down", ""), "Failed to disconnect from Tailscale")
     assert.strictEqual(formatError("connect", null), "Failed to connect to Tailscale")
 })
+
+// --- getStatusCommand (new pure helper for low-duty-cycle architecture) ---
+
+test("getStatusCommand returns the canonical tailscale status --json argv", () => {
+    const cmd = getStatusCommand()
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(cmd, ["tailscale", "status", "--json"])
+})